Hey Everyone!
I am so excited to be writing to you all today. For our next bucket list adventure we are going to a BEACH HOUSE!!! Yeah! So, heres the plan... Let's take an all-girls trip (#6) to a beach house (#7) and party like it's 1999! And I don't like Prince, but I find that I could not help a bit of cheesiness in my excitement. If you have ever seen my sister, aunt,mom and I get together it's non-stop, pee your pants comedy hour! OK, sorry about the lack of accessible bathrooms reference... I promised my sister I would never tell on her. :D (see Tammy, told you I would get you back for that time when you told Mom that I snuck out of the house when I was 15!)
I must admit, the pressure to get just the right beach house was all put on my shoulders by.... well myself. But think about this, it will be my mom's first time staying in a beach house. And unless life alters dramatically, it will be her last one too. This has to be a special place that is beautiful and peaceful. Somewhere that we can just sit and stare at one of God's most powerful earthen gifts, the ocean.
Last weekend I hunted for just the right place on one of my favorite sites (vrbo.com) and guess what? For about $500 or more per night, I found the perfect place! (envision me choking right about now) Yeah right, we just don't belong to the $500 a night set. I tried to downgrade my desires for my mom's adventures just a bit.
Short story long, I sent off several inquiries for houses along the central coast area and prayed that God would put on someone's heart to be warm and kind and generous, without me even having to ask. Perhaps someone would give us a break if we went mid-week? I did not have to wait long for His blessing.
On Sunday we had finished an exciting and somewhat painful day of bowling with our friends from church. You may think that being as tall as I am and having played High School and college sports that I would be good at most sports. But I plead that bowling is NOT a sport! It is a painful exercise of hurling an 11 pound rock down 30 feet of vast nothingness, trying to hit 10 pins that are little more than a mirage when I am not wearing my glasses all the while trying not to fall on my rear with those disease-ridden slip-n-slide excuses for rental shoes! My 9 year-old son even beat me... This "sport" has no dignity!
But all is well that ends well I suppose. I hobbled home to a cheerful message from Cynthia Haines, the owner of the Sand Dollar Beach House in Santa Cruz. I immediately called her back hoping that this would be the one.
During our conversation she asked what occasion we were renting her house for and I told her about the bucket list and how special this trip was to us. We had a wonderful conversation and shared out thoughts and struggles about health issues in loved ones. As we got to the point of discussing the rental, do you know what that kind lady did? She gave us an impressive discount to rent the house on a prime weekend!
I was so grateful that I bounced around for the entire day (even with my sore "you know what!" I called my mom right away and told her the fantastic news and so we are all geared up now to travel the eight hour drive up to Santa Cruz, stopping at every travel station for all things essential on a girl's road trip: Starbuck's, Peanut M&M's and Dr. Pepper.
Our adventure begins on the 12th of February and I hope that you will continue to join this adventure with us. Pray that my sister, Tammy, gets the time off from work and that my mom will have the strength to go and enjoy her first stay in a beach house.
FROM A VERY EXCITED DAUGHTER...
MUCH LOVE!
Hello friends...
Last week I wrote to you that my mom was going to give the City of Hope clinical trial two more months to see if there were any better results than she has had so far. She has given this a lot of thought and prayed fervently about her decision and has decided to stop treatments immediately.
The entire process of rigorous chemotherapy and experimental drugs has been too much for her and there is just no quality of life to make the possible results worth the pain and suffering. For the past few months she has been very sick and has rarely felt like doing much of anything. She misses her children and grandchildren and considers the people in her life what living is all about.
I feel as if we are back to where we started in October, 6-12 months to live and our family wondering what a person is supposed to do when their beloved mother, sister and wife is dying. We still pray for her and for God's decision to be made known in our lives. The one thing I do know is that there has never been a moment when we have not felt His love for us.
I spent the entire day with my parents yesterday and it was truly a fantastic time. I have to admit that the reality of this decision has still not fully hit me yet, perhaps I am waiting on more scans to give me more definitive results, who knows? The important thing right now is that my mom is happy and what a joy to see her in such good spirits yesterday. She was showing off her new digital photo frame (thanks Kay and the crew!) and we were starting our garden plans (more on this project to come).
Please continue to join us in our bucket list adventures, as always we are focusing on living and loving and there is plenty of both to be had right now. This bucket list has been an adventure and a blessing to my mom. I cannot thank you all enough for being a part of this.
Up next... the beach house adventure is only weeks away... yes, the next adventure has already been laid out. Join us soon and continue to pray and worship our Heavenly Father for His wonderful gift of the love and warmth that is Wanda.
affectionately...
Hey there!
In a recent conversation with my mom, she revealed that she has made a decision to stick out the treatment for a few more months. I think that is FANTASTIC! In two months they will do another CT scan and bone scan so she will wait to see those results. She felt that since she has only been in this experimental program for two months, it was not enough time to give any true results. Good call mom!
So we press on my friends. I have decided to cheer her up with another bucket list item over the next few weeks. What will it be?!!! If you listened to me recently and think it might be a beach house, maybe it will, but maybe not. My schedule is a bit hectic for that bit of fun just now. So what other list item are we going to do?
Tune in next post to find out :D
With much love...
Hello my sweet friends,
Today my mom met with her doctor to get the results of the bone and CT scans that were performed on Friday. It was time to test if the test phase of this treatment was having any effect on the cancer. The results are... that there really are not many results. The good news is that cancer has not spread any further. And the other news... well it's that the cancer is all still there, in every part of her body that it was before.
The bright and sunny disposition would be to say, "but hey! that's great news! the cancer is not spreading at least." But you see, my mom has been mostly sick for the entire treatment. Combine that with the many hours she spends driving all the way to Pasadena from Victorville for every treatment and the endless chemo side effects combined with experimental drugs. Well, it's not everyone's idea of "living" and perhaps not hers either.
So she is asking herself whether or not continuing treatment if only to keep her alive for another year or so, is it worth being sick for that entire year? Only my mom can answer that. And so she is spending the next few days considering her options.
I ask you all to join me in prayer that God would speak to my mom's heart and tell her His plan for her. That he would strengthen her for which ever path He has already chosen for her and that He would comfort us all.
So I am thinking that a wonderful, "all girls trip" to a "beach house" for her first time might just be in order. It's time we got to planning and putting a smile on her face again!
With Love...
I must admit, the pressure to get just the right beach house was all put on my shoulders by.... well myself. But think about this, it will be my mom's first time staying in a beach house. And unless life alters dramatically, it will be her last one too. This has to be a special place that is beautiful and peaceful. Somewhere that we can just sit and stare at one of God's most powerful earthen gifts, the ocean. 
