Jan. 31, 2007 - January Cancer Update

This past Friday, my husband went to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for his bi-monthly cancer checkup, and the results from his last scan showed that he is still cancer-free for now (and, we hope, indefinitely)!  As far as the pain he had felt before, he said it now almost non-existent, so that is yet another praise.  Thanks to all of those who left comments saying you'd be praying for us.  What a special gift.  Even if we had found out the worst, your prayers were wonderful Christmas presents, and we cherish them.

Well, we have a packed day ahead of us, but this update was well-overdue and, knowing myself, I'd keep finding excuses to "do it another time."  I once read somewhere that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."  As a Christian, perhaps that's a bit extreme, but the main point hits pretty close to home for me.  In fact, I probably wouldn't even be writing this right now except that I received an e-mail from one of my good friends and neighbors urging me to update my blog.  She said, "I was just looking at your blog this morning, and seeing that lots of people have left messages on your post, even one last week.  I'm sure they'd all love to know that Jeremy has the all-clear."  How's that for a "duh" moment? 

Dec. 15, 2006 - Cancer For Christmas?

I don't want to worry any friends or family members who might be reading this, but Jeremy confessed to me today that he's been having pain "down there" for the past two weeks.  We haven't gotten the results back from his last CT scan, and although everything has come back clear so far, I admit I am a bit nervous.  He has only been off treatments for a year and a half.  It was hard enough the first time; I don't know that we could go through this again.  Not on top of everything else we've been through over the past year.  What a lovely Christmas present that would be, huh?  Here you go, more cancer!  Um, no thanks. 

Well, there's no point getting too worked up over it since we don't know anything further right now, but please, please, pleeaaase keep us in your prayers.  Speaking of prayers....

Dear Lord,

We ask that You would give us Your peace that transcends all understanding.  Help us, Lord, not to worry or stress over something we have no control over.  We don't even know the outcome of the CT scan yet.  No matter what the result, Lord, help us to trust in Your love for us and plan for our lives.  You know best.  Our job is to be "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Rom. 12:12).  May our thoughts, words, actions, and deeds be glorifying to You, God, no matter what happens.  Thank you that ultimately, when all is said and done, we will be with You for eternity.  What could be better?

Amen.

Nov. 10, 2006 - Saturday Circus Day

So what is a Saturday Circus Day, anyway?  For us, it's what happens when my husband is working a 15-hour shift at the fish 'n' chips shop and buys a clown cake the night before on clearance for £1.20 at the local Tesco.  He came home with it and said, "Since I'll be gone for most of the day tomorrow, I thought maybe you could have a circus day with the boys or something."  Sounded like a great idea to me, so I spent the remainder of the evening online trying to come up with a gameplan.  I did a Google search for anything circus-related (clowns, crafts, songs, themed meals, etc.) and typed out a sample schedule for the next day. 

Here's what our day wound up looking like:

*Breakfast: Cheerios with marshmallows and M&Ms (to signify bouncy balls, clown suit polka dots, or balloons)

*Morning Show: JoJo's Circus

*Clown Face-painting (with white eyeshadow, blue eyeshadow, and blazing red lipstick)

*Songs: "I Went to the Animal Fair" and other circus songs

*Art: drawing a colorful clown on the chalkboard together

*Lunch: Clown Face Sandwiches

Nov. 2, 2006 - A Whole Month Early!!! Yay for me!

Well, folks, it’s not December yet, which means I am back on Home School Blogger a month earlier than predicted!  I hope the past couple of months have treated you well.  The rest of our September was relatively laid-back.  With both of the boys at nursery for two and a half hours each morning, that means a guaranteed shower every day!  Even if I don’t get anything else done, it does wonders for my overall attitude.  It feels so good to be able to wash away the cares of the previous day and start afresh.  A yummy-scented body wash doesn’t hurt, either! J

So, apart from the boys going back to school, nothing much happened except that I got to have tea with a friend a couple times, and Gabriel had another appointment with the doctor to see if he has improved or digressed at all (in terms of his being on the autistic spectrum).  The annoying thing is that this was Gabe’s third evaluation since this whole process started, and he has been asleep for all three of his appointments!  It’s like he knows where we’re going and is thinking, “No way, José!”  Oh, well.

October was a bit crazier than September.  Jeremy’s PhD was officially underway, and he was working two jobs in addition to reading, researching, and attending classes and seminars.  His department was hosting a social seminar (spouses and kids welcome) the first week of the month, but we had a friend stay with the boys so just the two of us could go.  It was basically a meet ‘n’ greet and wine ‘n’ dine (on hors d’oeuvres) with teachers and fellow PhD candidates.  After the formal event was over, many of us walked down the street to Ma Bells Bistro Bar to continue conversation in a more casual atmosphere.  It was our first “date” without the boys in a long time, so we milked it for all it was worth.  Apart from it being an all-around fun evening, the thing I enjoyed the most was getting to be a part of my husband’s academic world for a short time.  Usually I just send him off to school with a goodbye kiss and an “I love you, have a great day.”  I know where he’s going, but I don’t really know where he’s going.  It’s one thing to know it on a head level, but to get a small taste of what he’s doing, where he goes, what we came to St. Andrews for, was amazing.

Two days later, I was bringing dinner over to a friend who just had her second child, another girl.  Such is life in St. Andrews, a college town known for its high percentage of inter-marrying students and pregnancy being “in the water.”  I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been asked to bring a meal to a family with a new baby!  Not that I mind, it’s just funny.  In fact, I just received another meal sign-up for a friend who’s due in the next couple of weeks. J 

My last big news for October (apart from Halloween and the weekend prior) is that I finally got another haircut!  My last one was in early May, when my mom was here and sent me to a nice salon to get it cut and styled.  My last two cuts in St. Andrews were free, as I went to one of the salon’s training days, where, in exchange for getting a free cut, I have to be a guinea pig for three hours and still walk out wondering what they did to my hair.  To be fair, my recent haircut was also on training day, but it was at a different salon and for five pounds instead of completely free.  But you know what?  It was so worth it, because the girl who cut my hair actually knew what she was doing, can you believe it?  Anyway, I wouldn’t normally blog about a haircut (then again, I wouldn’t normally blog), but this time I’m growing my hair out.  I also asked the stylist to give me a fringe (aka. “bangs”).  I think I look cute, but I don’t know.... should I continue to grow it out, or go short again like in my avatar? 

Well, it’s time for bed here in Scotland.  Next time I’ll blog about our “Saturday Circus Day” and the “Goodbyeween Party” we attended this Halloween. J

God bless you all!

Sep. 8, 2006 - May, June, July, August, and a bit of September, too!

One morning a few weeks back, my husband and I woke up to find our house in utter ruin.  Our two sons, the co-conspirators, got up early and instead of squeezing into bed with us and tormenting us with their cold feet as usual, they thought they'd be "nice" and let us sleep in.  So when I opened my eyes at about 9:00, I just knew something was wrong.  I don't think I had even gotten as far as the doorway before I screamed.  I won't tell you what all we found that day, but one of the larger messes was a whole bottle of liquid soap that had been poured out onto the carpet.  I went online to find out "how to get soap out of carpet" and one of the search results was for a blog entitled "The Reluctant Blogger," who apparently also had a soap-in-the-carpet incident. 

Both of which make me wonder... how do the rest of you find the time to blog so frequently???  I know I've asked this before, but man, I can barely keep up with my life, let alone blog about it!  It makes my brain hurt.  I'd have deleted this account by now, only I always think to myself, "Tomorrow...I'll blog tomorrow."  But as my faithful readers (aka. friends who check in on me wondering if I'll ever return) know, "tomorrow" never comes.

My last entry from July was actually an account of what happened in April, so that leaves May, June, July, August, and part of September unaccounted for.  Originally, I was going to cover one month per post, but that idea has gone by the wayside.  Here is the ultra-condensed version:

May: My mom flew back home in mid-May, and my husband's parents arrived less than two days later.  A few days after that, a friend of ours from Arizona (along with two of his buddies) came to stay with us for a few days, as they were on a tour of Europe.  In other words, we basically played Tour Guides for the entire month.  The end of May marked our son Noah's third birthday, and we took him and his older brother to Craigtoun Country Park, a local recreational park that has a train, mini golf, canoes, bounce houses, and other fun family activities.

June: We started potty-training with our younger son in earnest, after countless failed attempts with his older brother.  He seemed to be waiting for his big bro to go first, but it just wasn't happening and we both knew that Noah was ready even though Gabriel wasn't.  Also during the month of June, I was assigned to a Home Start volunteer.  Home Start is a charity in the UK that helps families with young children, so I filled out an application and got a volunteer in less than a few months.  She's a lovely lady, not much older than my mom, who comes once a week to chat, play with the boys in the garden while I mop the floor, take us to the doctor if need-be, stuff like that.  Otherwise, June was a pretty hum-drum month with lots of laundry (due to potty-training) and my husband was busy working on his Master's dissertation as well as earning money for our family at the local fish 'n' chips shop. 

July: Work, work, work.  Some time for play, but not much.  There were a few BBQs, a baby shower, and a family date night.  We ate sandwiches on the beach and then went to see the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" at the cinema in town.  Great movie -- can't wait 'til it comes out on DVD!  Both of our boys love Lightning McQueen (aka. "Speed" or "Steve the Car").  

August: I think Noah was fully potty-trained by August, even able to stay dry during naps and bedtime!  School started up again, and this time Noah joined his big brother at nursery.  Nursery here is kind of like preschool in the States, but a lot more common.  And it's free.  Kids start going when they're three and by the time they turn five, they go to P1, which is the equivalent of kindergarten.  Unless you're homeschooling at this stage, your child will pretty much be expected to attend.  Gabe and Noah are thrilled to be going together, and they are there from 9:00-11:30 every week day.  Two and a half hours to myself, yippee!  I had forgotten what "free time" was like!  Jeremy finished writing his Master's dissertation at the end of the month, and we celebrated by going out for breakfast while the boys were at school.  It was great. ;-)

Now we've finally reached the month of September!  Phew!  So far it has been a busy month.  My husband and I just applied for discounted housing (due to medical and financial concerns), and in the meantime are living day-to-day life: working, being parents, attempting to potty-train our four-and-a-half-year-old (prayers, please!), and looking forward to when my husband can quit the "chippy" and start focusing on his PhD work and his fundraising job at the university.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he got a job with the uni!  It's only ten hours a week, but since it's a 12-month contract and he's considered staff, he gets the staff tuition rate.  I won't say what it is, but it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than what we had to pay last year. 

So....that's it.  All caught up now.  Of course, that was the extremely slimmed-down history of our summer here in St. Andrews, but hey, that's what happens when you don't blog for months on end!  Don't worry, I'll be back again in December! :-D