Our Nesting Pair of Doves

The dove. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. (Matthew 3:16) It is said, that if a dove nests at your house, it is a house filled with great love, which being Christians, we believe comes more fully, as we are open to and blessed by the Holy Spirit!

Our male and female doves have arrived. These two make a nest in our back deck window box every spring. Ted and I find it especially comforting to remember that of all the homes they could have picked...ours is the one they chose and keep coming back to every spring.

The dove on our deck table today was fun, as Ted has not yet put the liners and dirt in our window boxes, so they keep looking through our kitchen patio door as if to say..."C'mon guys, get a move on...we have a nest to build"!!

What's Next!

I just got back from my first meeting with Dr. Jane Andrews, who is my radiation oncologist. I liked her a lot as she gave me all my treatment options for this phase along with the pros/cons of each choice. I've decided to pursue the "Canadian" radiation regimen, so will go Mon-Fri for 4 weeks starting April 28th. So my last treatment will be Friday, May 22nd...just in time to celebrate the Indy 500 that weekend! I go for measurements/markings on April 20th, so nothing will interfere with our April 22nd-27th trip to Tucson! YEAH...gettin' there!

The Healing Power of Friends

I'm still blown away. As most of you know, I love and adore my TFWC friends. For those of you who wonder what TFWC stands for...it's a secret that will never be told, so forget about trying to get that out of any of us! Anyhoo, all eight of us lived in Rogers Hall at Ball State together and let's just say we completely bonded over the fun, perils, thrills and heartbreaks of college life...living, learning and well, just helping each other grow up...OK, so that part didn't quite happen!!

At first we got together for our own wedding showers and weddings, followed by lots of baby showers and babies, then play dates and birthday parties for our kids, and now weddings for our kids and showers for our grandbabies. So as you can see, you can pretty much name the triumph or tragedy...one of us has had it happen, but we've been through all life has brought to each of us...together. In addition, for 33 years, we've been gathering for a weekend every summer and since our kids have grown and left home leaving a little more time for Mom, we've added a winter retreat at my house too.

But this weekend they said was just for me. So it all started Saturday afternoon at our house, as all came from far and wide....and the best part...our dear Susan flew in from Denver to surprise me!! I'm still speechless! Last night was filled with laughter, lots of healing hugs, all the junk food you could ever want...and a very special surprise gift. My jewelry collection consists of 2 pairs of earrings, so as I was getting my PJ's on, I came back downstairs to see literally at least 20 pairs of gorgeous hoop earrings to wear with my scarves...all given from their own collections with some new ones sprinkled in. They also gave me a special pink ribbon bracelet/matching earrings that I will wear each day until my treatment is completely over, remembering the love that went into this very special weekend of love in my life!

We ended the weekend with a group hug filled with loving words and prayers that will last in my memory forever. So thank you, thank you (pictured above left to right) Moni, Gracia, Geri, Munch and Susan plus Connie W (came too, but left pre-picture) and Connie B (protecting me from her flu virus, so called instead). You are the best forever girlfriends--what a lucky girl I am to have you all in my life! TFWC forever!

Top Ten Reasons It's Fun to be a Mexican Hairless

#10. No nose hair...so no chance for those nasty buggers to form!
# 9. My shower drain runs clean and clear.
# 8. I don't have to carry a brush in my purse.
# 7. When the March winds blow, no hair will blow into my eyes. Roll those car windows down!
# 6. I no longer have to make a trip to the mall to have my eyebrows arched.
# 5. I no longer have to check to see if my mascara is smeared under my eyes.
# 4. I save a good 20 minutes getting ready in the morning.
# 3. I no longer release chrolo flora carbonates into the air from using hairspray.
# 2. Those hairy European women don't know what they're missing...smooth legs and underarms...with no effort...nice!

And the number one reason it's fun to be hairless is...
#1. Complete strangers do very kind things when they see my scarf-covered head. I haven't received that kind of treatment since I was pregnant, which honey...was a loonnng time ago!

Coming Out of the Gate!

Hi all: This will be short and sweet as I'm not quite back to normal yet, but know that many are wondering how I'm doing post-third chemo round. This time, either I'm getting used to it, or my strategies are working better. I felt the crummiest Sunday afternoon and yesterday all day, but today, unlike last time, I'm at least able to get up a bit. I've dressed, caught up on email and thank you's, read a student's thesis in preparation for her defense tomorrow morning and had multiple phone conversations related to IU stuff. Last time, I was down, down all day Tuesday. So we like, like, like this improvement! My right arm still looks like a battlefield...they really had trouble finding a vein this time, so I've got 4 large bruises and feel compelled to hide my arm, lest people think I've been in a fight and lost!

Also wanted to share the great praise that my job at IU was finalized today! In these crazy economic times, I'm so very thankful that my Associate Professor role at IU has now been finalized and will provide me an opportunity to not only contribute greatly to the students and the school over the coming years, but also to provide Ted and me with all the benefits therein. All my colleagues at the school have been absolutely amazing in their support of my new role there, despite my lack of ability to be fully operational right now, so it's even more of a blessing. So many, many prayers of thanks are going heaven-ward for this news today. Go IU!

Do I Choose the Scrap Heap or Gold?

Once again, my devotion today was spot on. The topic tied perfectly to the challenges of this week and to the wonderful reminders sent by many of you (thank you Bert, Connie M, Julie B, Jim K, Mike A and Connie F) in the last three days!

So in my devotion, a blacksmith is asked what he fears the most and he replies "I fear that I will be thrown in the scrap heap". When asked what he means by that, he replies...that when he is tempering a piece of steel, first he heats it, then he hammers it, then he plunges it into a bucket of cold water. Very soon, he sees whether the block of steel will take the tempering or go to pieces in the process. If it's discovered after a couple of temperings, that the block is not going to allow itself to be tempered, it is thrown on the scrap heap to be sold for a cent per pound to the junkman.

So the Lord is testing Ted and I and our kids too! We can choose to be tempered by the heat and hammering and cold water bath, or we can prove not to be a good fit for the Lord's tempering process and find ourselves thrown to the scrap heap with all the missed opportunity to be molded into something with the beauty of gold!

I made a choice at 30 years of age, to be tempered rather than to become part of the junk pile of this world. That process continues, but I have many, many examples of the blessings that abound during and after a time of tempering has come. So my advice to all those reading this...get quiet, get in a truly meaningful relationship with God, however that is defined for you, and rejoice in the times of tempering. They are times of rich reward.

Do You Know That Feeling?

Do you know that feeling? There's something you need to do...but you just don't want to. Even the thought of knowing what you need to do brings a bad feeling in your gut, yet you know you must face it and do it anyway. Well, Ted and I are both having one of those weeks for different reasons.

For Ted, the tough economy combined with the ever-changing and challenging world of graphic technology, make life difficult for his customers, thereby making life challenging for him. For me, it's yet another round of much-needed chemotherapy, and knowing that behind it, I'll likely have another week of non-productivity, which of course is very frustrating to this "must keep my to-do list done" person!!

So I'm heads down Monday through Wednesday trying to get papers graded and reading done for my teaching job in addition to some catch-up on consulting work. Ted is working hard to help his customers solve their problems and meet their needs with his ever-dedicated focus to bringing them the best expertise and effort he can bring.

But most importantly, we're both girded by faith...that our hardship brings a greater leaning on our God of love and comfort, that our heartfelt efforts will be recognized by those we seek to serve, and that our love and support of each other will carry us someday to an easier time.