Spring is here!

A wonderful Wednesday working in the yard. I love to get out and clean up the beds this time of year. Lots of bulbs up and ready to burst into bloom...grape hyacinths, regular hyacinths, daffodils, primroses are up and my easter lilies are up. I trimmed all the mums, planted pansies, raked up leaves and weeded the beds. Michael and John helped and then Daniel when he got home from school. I was also able to get the dormant oil spray on the apple tree. So nice to be outside again. We swept the porches, walks and deck. Tomorrow it's going up to 70! I'll be able to work from 7:30 until about 10 - then I'll have to get ready for work. I only work until 4:30 - so maybe I can come home and do a little more.

Happy Birthday to me!

Well it has been a great birthday! Nice cards, wonderful, thoughtful gifts! Michael got me a pear tree for the backyard...I think it'll be 3-5 years before we'll get pears, but I am so excited! Tomorrow is my day off and we are supposed to have nice weather, so I am going to use my new organic spray on the apple trees and the grapes. This year we should have nice fruit without the "rust" spots we've had in the past. I'm using products from Gardens Alive and they have great instructions to follow.
Michael also got me a pair of those bionic garden gloves that are recommended by the Arthritis Association. He gave me a pair last year and I used them so much I wore through the fingers. Daniel gave me the special edition DVD of the Legend of Zorro! (I love Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas!) Michael and Daniel took me to Mimi's Cafe for a birthday dinner. John gave me a pot of tulips and is going to get me a big load of dirt for my new beds. A garden girl's dream!! My great team of co-workers gave me a beautiful minature rose plant! I got a IM birthday wish from my college roomie and lots of beautiful cards and e-cards! Thank you everyone for making this a special day!!

Basketball & transplanting

Sweet Sixteen! Of course the game I'm most interested in starts the latest (9:57 est) But UCLA plays Gonzaga - could be worth waiting up to see. I'm going to be busy during the games transplanting my seedlings into bigger pots...I have the little tv all set up in the basement. It snowed here on the first day of Spring and we are supposed to have more this weekend. I was hoping to be able to get some of my hardier plants out on the porch but I'll have to wait. So the plants are spreading throughout the house. I had to set up another small greenhouse in the living room. It's like living in a conservatory!

What a tournament!

It's been quite a weekend...seems like more upsets this year than ever! It has made for some of the best basketball I have seen. Nothing is better than a low-seeded team fighting tooth and nail against a "powerhouse" and winning! Even though the results reeked havoc with my bracket, it still was great basketball.
Today has been hard, remembering everything that happened a year ago - my dad's last day with us. But my mom told me today about a card she received in the mail from an old friend who wrote "Thinking of you as you celebrate Jack's first year with Jesus." And all throughout the year I have thought "this is daddy's first easter with Jesus" "this is daddy's first christmas with Jesus" but I hadn't thought of this one year anniversary in that way - but it is how I am going to think of the passing of time from now on. Every day brings me one day closer to joining my friends and relatives who have preceeded me to heaven - one day closer to being able to sing praises together to our Lord and King.

Hoops!

Every year I say it - every year it seems to be true: College basketball offers the best in games to watch. Always surprizes, always great first round games....the little guys upsetting a #2 or 3 seed - always a #12/#5 upset and just the most entertaining sports tv! And this year is another great one... even though some of those upsets ruin my brackets - I just love to watch them. Overtimes, double overtimes - it is no wonder we all have March Madness! I'm staying up way too late, but IU has a late game and I just have to watch. Go Hoosiers!

Update

My CT scan is clear of any more lung problems! So I don't have to take the anti-fungus medicine. All my pulmonary function tests were better than last time. I am feeling better than ever. I've lost 28 # and have a good handle on my diabetes.
Today I planted my first seeds outside - peas and snow peas. All my indoor seedlings are growing well. Only a few more days until Spring is officially here. And the NCAA tournament starts tomorrow! It's a great time of year. Of course we are also drawing near to the one year anniversary of my dad's passing - a very sad time. Yet knowing that one day we'll be together again is a wonderful gift. I think of him so often when I am working out in the yard, as I think of his dad's flower garden also and my grandparent's farm. Wonderful memories of times spent as a little girl helping with the planting. Memories of my dad and how carefully he tended his tomatoes and watched over the planters of flowers that my mom arranged each year. I am so grateful for this love of growing things that was passed on to me.

Great Doctor's Appointment!

Saw the endocrinologist today at the diabetes center. She was thrilled with my results. I've now lost a total of 26 # (since August) and lowered my A1C from 6.4 to 5.8 She said that my blood sugar levels were good and to keep doing what I'm doing (which is watching carbs and increasing exercise). I don't have to see her again for 6 months! Yeah!
No word yet on the lung culture, although the results are "in the mail" so I should be able to report soon on that. I will repeat the CT of my lungs at the beginning of March as well as a repeat of the pulmonary function tests. If I get an all-clear from those - I won't have to take the anti-fungal medicine.

Seeds are coming!

I'm so excited because last night I ordered my seeds for this year. I can't wait until they all get here and I start planting. Now I'm thinking about where I want to put everything, how I want to improve or change the beds I have and dreaming of new beds to make. I'm asking John and the boys for dirt again for my birthday. I hope they get me a big load this year....because I have so many plans. I'm working on how to document them. I've joined a garden site where I can journal, but I'd like to share my progress with friends and family. So I'll think on it for awhile and let you know if I'll continue to post on my garden journal, or if I'll move to a different site or format. Tomorrow I'm starting my pepper plants.

February!!!

I can't believe it is already February! I tried to post on here from Florida, but the computer I was using wouldn't let me. Anyway, I had a wonderful trip to Lake Mary to visit my mom and her friend, Jackie. They have a cute apartment, close to a grocery store, movie theater and shopping center. Since they do not have a car - it is good that they can walk to these things. While I was down there, mom rented a car and I drove them to see some of the things they wanted to check out. We went to Blue Springs and saw the manatees, Bok Tower, Mount Dora, Cocoa Beach and some beautiful gardens near Orlando. I got to stay almost a whole week and we had great weather (in the 80's). It was a lovely winter break - especially in one of my busiest months at work. So I came home to alot of work (which is why it has taken so long to post again) but I finished everything that needed to be completed by January 31st! Now that everyone from NCCC and DMI has their contribution statements and can do their taxes - I'm on to a new project: a building campaign at NCCC. I will keep busy during February tallying commitments and writing reports for the leadership teams. Then the last weekend of February, weather permitting, Michael and I will travel up to Buffalo to help my sister, Jacque continue to sort through my mom's old house. Before I know it - it will be March.

Cold again!

Well we reached 64 degrees yesterday! But it must have been too warm for the Bengals, as they lost to the Steelers....taking us out of the playoffs way too soon for the fans. But today - winter is back with temps only in the low 40's.
I am happy to say that I am feeling so much better each day and beginning to do "regular" things again! My bedroom got a much needed cleaning this weekend. Today I worked for 3 hours in the basement sewing room and really made a dent. We are still trying to sort through and clear out stuff from John's parent's house. When John's dad died two years ago - we were so busy that many things we had to just pile up in the basement in order to clear out his apartment when the nursing home wanted. Now my mom is clearing out her basement and seeing what a big job she has is helping me get going on ours. One bag to Goodwill and one to the trash today - plus alot of boxes sorted through and the contents put in their place. I have no idea how long it will take to get through but wintertime seems like a good time for an inside job.

Walking again

Finally I am back to walking....so far my foot is NOT hurting too much to do about 20 minutes at a time. I still probably need to get to a podiatrist, but I put gel inserts in my tennis shoes and it feels better. Anyhow, the other day the temperatures were great for a walk outside (54) but today I took my shoes to work and walked around the church (inside) after I was done working. Not as exciting as walking outside, but it was warmer.

Happy 2006!

No resolutions because I like to set goals as things come up not just on a particular day of the year. But I do hope that I will be more consistent in blogging than I have been the last two months. I think I just got tired of talking about my health!
We had a whirlwind trip to Buffalo - don't feel like we did that much, but Mom appreciated it, so I'm glad we went. So nice to see her new house. I will try to post pictures of it on the Harris site http://spaces.msn.com/members/harrishomepage/
as soon as I can.
We enjoyed a nice holiday time with the boys this year, mostly watching movies. I actually did some baking for them, although it was hard to not be able to eat what I wanted. I did try a cookie or two, when my blood sugar would allow.
Andrew is back at school - we miss him already! He is such a great guy to talk with and we really enjoyed our time in the car with him.
My mom invited me to visit her in Florida - so I will be going down Jan 18 thru 23rd. I have to drive a rental car from the airport to where she is staying - hopefully I can manage that. I'm going on Mapquest next to find the directions.

Merry Christmas to all!

Well it has been a month since my last post. I've been busy recovering from surgery, working and trying to catch up on work from my 2 weeks off, getting ready for Christmas and learning all about diabetes. I didn't decorate for Christmas, other than candles in the window and the nativity scene...too sore still to lift out the boxes and put everything up. Tomorrow John, AJ and I are making a quick run up to Buffalo to see mom before she heads to Florida and help her with a few projects. Then drive back on Wednesday. I have full days to work on Thursday and Friday getting the books closed for the year. I am feeling better each day - but still suffering with alot of rib pain. We still do not have the results from the culture and currently are planning a repeat CT scan and pulmonary function tests in 2 months before deciding about medication.

Family time

We had a nice quiet thanksgiving. The boys learned how to make all the traditional recipes that they have grown up with - so now I told them that they were ready to take over the celebration. I say that "tongue in cheek" as I really, really missed being able to cook and get everything ready. It was kind of hard to let go of all my holiday preparations. But the food tasted good and we had great family times together. I sat at the kitchen table when I could and helped direct the food prep.
I have had alot of pain this weekend since going off of the morphine patch. I have a few more days of winding down off the other pain medications and hope that when I am off everything, that the pain will be at a managible level. Anxious to hear about the results of the culture and what my future course of meds will be. My blood sugar levels are a little elevated as I had a little of the thanksgiving treats - but they are still below the # my doctor gave me, so I should be fine. I am enjoying time visiting with John and the boys, watching movies and just talking. I can't think about putting up any Christmas decorations right now - so I will just wait and see how I feel in another week or so.

Back to work

First day back to work since 11/3 and it was my 4 hour day (thank goodness!) It was full of challenges (computer not working right, not being able to find things I needed, more pain that I expected) but the Lord is so good to me - placing me in a very caring and supportive environment. Monie stepped in and got my computer working and helped me get organized to get the deposit done - everyone was so patient. When John came to pick me up I was exhausted and in pain, but I made a start at 'real life' again. The boys are going to be here for Thanksgiving because of snow storm predicted and my sister is sick with pneumonia. I'm sure my mom is disappointed - I know the boys are, but we walk by faith not by sight. My oldest son went out today and bought all the food for our thanksgiving (with his own money) and he and my middle son have volunteered to do all the cooking if I would supervise. So we will patch together a little celebration. We have so much to be thankful for this year. And although we do not know what the future holds, we know our God holds the future.

Not quite up to speed

Saw the lung specialist yesterday and found out more about histoplasmosis. I was so excited that this wans't cancer in my lung, that I didn't really do much thinking about it still being something that needed treating. Anyhow, yesterday I found out that the complete culturing of the sample would take 6 - 8 weeks. Right now the surgeon thinks it is histoplasmosis but the lung doc said we really need to wait to get the full report before we can decide how to treat it. If it is "histo" the treatment is really long and hard on the liver. If they can't identify it then they will need to move in a particular way... which may involve trying to see if it has infected other organs. Meanwhile he wants me to recover from the surgery for about 4 more weeks before we start anything else. During this time he wants me to concentrate on the Diabetes.

Today I met with the nurse at the Diabetes Center and learned how to take my blood sugar levels. Right now she wants me to check it twice a day. My ankles, feet and legs are still swollen even with the diuretics - so it may be my sugar levels causing it. Well, all this new stuff to learn about should keep my brain sharp!!!

Back to Blogging

Successful surgery... not cancer but a fungus called histoplasmosis. I see the doctor tomorrow for my post-op and have my list of questions ready for him. I will let you know what I find out. So far the pain has been more than I expected but the doctor has me on a pain patch, prescription pain meds and OTC pain relievers for in between. I am able to get about an hour to an hour and a half of sleep at a time. Then I get up and do my breathing exercises, my walking, my arm exercises, and lay back down again. I made dinner for the first time tonight (just chili - but it's progress). Pray for Andrew this week - it's finals week for him.

God's wonderful children

Well it's the night before my surgery and I am so at peace. It has been a hectic day - getting everything ready at work for me to possibly be gone 3 weeks...but so good to know things are in order. I have received so many emails, cards and phone calls from dear friends and family assuring me of their prayers! Even friends of my son - people I haven't even met, but we share a bond in Christ! How marvelous God's grace is to surround me with the prayers of His children.
And He has provided so wonderfully for me. Once they remove the tumor, lymph node and part of the lung - there will be a pathologist there to immediately determine if it is cancer. If it is then they will be able to remove the lower lobe and possibly the whole lung if needed without a second operation. I am also going to be in a research study. They are trying to find a marker in the blood for lung cancer (like the PSA test for prostate cancer). If it isn't cancer, they will follow me for 2 years, if it is for 5 years. It would be so wonderful if they were able to identify this so that one day they could catch lung cancer even sooner.

Here is the verse that I am clinging to: “But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Please pray with me that I will keep shining God's light and power so that everyone I come in contact with at the hospital will see Christ in me.

Doctors okay surgery

Friday's surgery is a go. My chest xray showed some pneumonia but the surgeon said he is not worried about it. My white count is down from 15.8 to 13.6 and they put me on antibiotics. I am relieved as I just want to get it over at this point. I think I have the house pretty well straightened up, organized everyone's schedules, lined up a list of friends for John to call if he needs meals or help with anything. My suitcase is packed and the laundry is done. My friend who had the same surgery took me out to lunch today and gave me the "lowdown" on what it will really be like. The more information I have, the better I feel about it. I got the plants pulled up in the garden over the weekend, but did not get the beds "bedded down" for the winter. I hope we'll have some Indian Summer later this month and I can finish up outside. I don't know if I will have computer access at the hospital so this may be my last blog for awhile. Most of you that read this will get an email from John with the results of the surgery. Take care of each other!

Remember God's Timing is Perfect

The last 24 hours have been very interesting. Yesterday I had an urgent call from my doctor that my white blood cell count was elevated and I needed to go to the lab and have more blood drawn. I am so glad we switched doctors and now the doctor and the lab is just down the road! So I raced up there and got the test. This morning they called and said it wasn't as high but still elevated enough that he was concerned about me having surgery Friday - but if I would get a chest x-ray and it was clear and I would start an anti-biotic he would okay the surgery. So off I went again to the lab and then to the drugstore. I haven't heard the outcome yet. In the midst of all this I keep thinking about the song the group I sing with just sang at church..."Wait on the Lord". One of the lines says "His ways are perfect, His timing is sure". I so much want to be in control. First I wanted the surgery to be later in the month - then when the doctor insisted on this Friday and I am facing the possibility of it being postponed I am irritated! So I have been singing the song to myself all day and reminding myself that God's timing throughout my whole life HAS been perfect - so why should it be any different now? So as I wait, I am thankful that God not only has everything having to do with the surgery in control - He already knows the outcome! Praise His Holy Name!