Sickness

Lately, we have been inundated.  And when I say lately, I mean since this past summer. 

Gloria was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer in July 2023.  She has handled the diagnosis and the treatments with a resolute acceptance and perseverance.  She has had surgery to remove the gall bladder, but unfortunately, there was cancer already moving to other organs.  So, she had undergone various rounds of chemotherapy, and experienced various levels of side effects with the treatments.  She ahs continued to volunteer, go out (or have in) a great support system of friends, and stay positive.  It must not be easy, and I am sure it is lonely at times.  This January, she had a cold that they thought turned into pneumonia.  This one knocked her down some.  She is currently on oxygen, but moving with great energy after a numerous weeks of working with that.  She even has the portable tanks to cart around as she eats out with friends, sorts cards at MCC, and gets on with life.  Jennifer came home on Monday of Easter week and is staying for a couple weeks.  I dropped the girls off the other night during a meeting at church.  When I went to pick them up, they were in the middle of Frozen 2 Monopoly.  They were having a great time!

Madison and Ellie both had strep throat (at the same time) and missed a bit of school. Then, Madison got some virus that had her running a fever and feeling fatigue.  Most recently, Ellie had something that had her throwing up and then drained for about 4 days.  When Ellie was sick, my mom showed up with homemade turkey noodle soup and crusty bread.  It was all Ellie ate for about 2 days.  All this is not the usual here.  I have said to Ellie’s endocrinologist, in the past 3 years, we haven’t had to follow sick day procedures!  And then this.  Both girls weathered the illnesses like champions – resting and keeping up with school work. 

    

My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer after a routine colonoscopy in February.  Last week, she had surgery to remove a section of her large intestine/colon as a precaution to eliminate anything that may have been missed when they removed the cancerous polyp.  Her surgery was Thursday.  I hung out with her at the hospital on Saturday.  She is recovering like a champ – taking laps (and now walks outside), resting, eating all the allowable foods (a diet of white breads, no fresh produce, and no fiber… a complete contradiction of her normal eating!), and drinking a ton!  The girls and I went over this morning to make some food for them – chicken supreme casserole (Madison), tuna noodle casserole (me), chicken and rice casserole (Ellie), and meatloaf (Ellie).  It was a fun project and easy when we all just did our assigned meals.  They will split these up and use them for supper as the weeks plod on and she continues to heal.  We are still waiting on pathology for the results from the surgery that will determine the next steps.  Just like Gloria, mom continues to remain hopeful, positive, and ready for what comes next. 

    

Little Things

I was asked to do Moments with Children during church this Lenten season.  It was supposed to be about faith.  It took me a bit to come up with something.  I finally made a slideshow with pictures of unusual animals/animals with unusual names.  Then, I would ask the kids if they believed there was such a thing as a ____.  I explained that these are things that we have never seen, but we learn about them through others telling us, sharing pictures, and writing about it.  Then, we can believe that they do exist.  I said that was what faith was too.  God has given us the Bible that tells us about Him and His love even if we never have seen Him.  And people around us tell us about Him as well.  And that all helps us to believe who God is and what He promises to us.  It was fun.  Unbeknownst to me, Bob F. was taking pictures of me while I was up there.  So, here are the many faces of Erin:

         

Ellie had a chance to go to a spring time party at one of her friend’s houses.  She had a great time hanging out and having fun.

I had a chance to squeeze in two things into one day a few weeks back.  My coworker, Baylee, was having a baby shower, and my nephew, Sam, was in district wrestling tournament.  They were about 30 minutes away from each other.  I was so glad I was able to go watch him wrestle.  Unfortunately, he lost his first match, but he went three rounds and almost had the kid at the end.  Wrestling is maybe the most stressful spectator sport.  I am on edge the entire time.  I know Sam was disappointed he did not get to go to state (the next level had he made it into the top 4 at this tournament), but I am so proud of him.  I was sitting behind him and Luke when he came over.  It is a relationship of sometimes many words of advice/reprimand/wisdom and sometimes one of silent comradery. 

Finally, our transition to spring (and our low-key winter) has been unreliable and unpredictable.  But about a week ago, Ellie and I headed out the door to pick up a pie we bought from the SYF, and we were honored to witness this.  It was incredible.

February Fun

So, I didn’t get this posted by the end of February, but here are a few more random fun things that we did or saw…

Camp Luz Winter Retreat…

Both girls – and me! – got to junior high/high school winter camp.  It started on Friday evening and went through Sunday morning worship.  It was fun to get to know the kids a little more and hang out with them.  The girls were exhausted, but had a lot of fun!  Here are a few snapshots from the weekend…

           

We have had a tiny bit of snow this year.  We enjoyed a fun afternoon of sledding on one day.  Madison has been in ski club again this year.  However, the weather (and her getting sick) has limited the number of times she has been able to go.  She signed up for ski lessons each time she went as well; the one picture is Madison with a lesson organizer.  She absolutely loves being able to ski; plus, she has some quality friend time during those nights. 

    

One day when visiting Grandma Yoh, we got sucked into trying to get this puzzle done that Marianne Bricker left for her.  We worked diligently to each finish each of our little segments.  Then, we left.  A week or so later, we went back and helped complete the final pieces.

   

Flowers for Valentine’s Day…  (no other special events… it just didn’t happen this year… busy-ness and parent-teacher conference night)

8th grade dance.  Madison has fun dancing the night away (and eating some tasty snacks) with her friends. 

Finally, here it is…. the grand finale! 

I remember hanging over the seat of our old station wagon while speeding down the road just to watch the odometer slowly turn over to all zeros. From 99,999 miles to 100,000 miles.  It didn’t happen often, but my dad always made a big deal of it.  I got to show my kids, too, but I wasn’t sure if the digital version would have the same impact.  It was still exciting… it is all about the hype.  And hype it up I did as we watched it move the last 10 miles to go from 199,999 miles to 200,000 miles!  (Hope the van hangs on another 100,000!)