Day 17: Hair Dayz

As the chemo is taking it's toll on Patty's hair, some sweet sweet ladies (who will remain anonymous) pitched in to purchase her a wig- that I can't even tell is a wig. She walked in the other day with it on to try it out and I just kept talking and halfway through she goes "well?" I said "well what? I told you I'd clean and I will just give me a minute" She continues on, "no! can't you tell?" Again, "dude, quit playing games and tell me" We laugh and lo and behold.... SHE'S WEARING HER NEW WIG AND I HAD NO IDEA. It will almost make you want to cry because something so simple as having her hair gone, yet looking like it isn't is something special. Those ladies are selfless and serving God in a different way.. a way that makes my mom feel normal.

However, me and Jerry don't understand why she wants a fancy wig to look like herself when she can wear the wig my grandmother used to wear. I mean it isn't too good for any of us....

Look at the poise he has rocking that wig with that cavalier so graciously draped across his lap... rockstar

Even as an infant I knew what style really was....

Even Shaggy knew how to incorporate the wig into her every day style with a head scarf for a different type of look



























As you can see, the wig has had it's time in the spotlight, and we can't understand why Patty will not allow it to grace her presence on the top of her head. But, if you had hair like this, I probably wouldn't deem it necessary to wear Nana's wig either ;)


Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and words of support. I love seeing all the cards in her box from all the people who love her as much as I do. She's my best friend ya'll.

Day 16: PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW

My best friend Emily says that after every positive news, but it totally applies right now...

I GOT A JOB. A FULL TIME. SALARY. JOB. WITH A GREAT COMPANY. WHO PROVIDES SNAKCS AND COKES ON THE REG AND LUNCH ONCE A WEEK. What will I be doing? I blacked out after the free snacks conversation. It's hard feeding this 27 year old on this poor girls budget- these 15 pounds have proved it. It's expensive to eat healthy :/ I start MONDAY and I am so excited and have such a PEACE about this company. Thank you time and time again Tara Stigall for getting me in touch with them. It was a perfect fit and you knew it all along. I am so thankful I have you in my life for that very happening... and I promise i'll be at Sunday school on Sunday... just promise no introductions and act like I'm a random kid off the street ;) spotlight intimidate me (hiding behind my computer is so much easier ;) ) God places people in your life you never would have imagined... she's one of them and is quickly become a friend and someone to lean on when I need to freak out over my 27 year old dramatics. Thank you Tara- you are truly a gem sent from God for me without even knowing it.

I'm working for AIS Advanced Infusion Solutions as a Patient Account Specialist in Ridgeland and start Monday. I'm nervous, but have such a peace and comfort that it doesn't even bother me. I'm so excited to start this new chapter there with this amazing company. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW.

Patty had a great chemo treatment today. She's been up and running and I'm like- dude slow down I'm sleepy! Her cancer numbers have dropped from 2600 to 661 (don't forget that "1" everyone number counts). PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW. She's been inhaling any and every ginger food possible. We will know next week if that's helping with her counts. Actually, I just lied. She has to skip chemo next week. Her blood cell count is way too low and she can't handle the "bad" chemo next week. So, they gave her some painful shot that will make her bones literally hurt to help her bone marrow produce white blood cells and get her going. I asked if I could breathe on her (logical since those fight infections?) so I could get out of doing her toe nails again, no go. I'm back on nail polish patrol. We've significantly traded clothes. Bless her heart, she's so much taller than me and my jeans that are a few sizes smaller than hers are pushing it on the length. Of course I think they look fashion forward and chic, but she's rocking them like a fashionista. I'm just disappointed she can fit into my clothes and I'm now into hers. As thin as she is normally, she buys clothes up a size because she's so tall and I'm petite. We've basically traded wardrobes. I WILL GET BACK DOWN TO THAT SIZE AND GET MY CLOTHES BACK. SHE IS FIGHTING FOR THE SAME. We just laugh at how aggravated the other is in our change of weight and sizes... she has an excuse. I have the excuse of... fried food, wine and taco bell. No regrets. Just some lifestyle changes now!

Please just pray the pain from the shot to help he bone marrow produce the white blood cells won't be as painful as anticipate and maybe she can get chemo next week- unlikely- but hey you never know #powerofprayer #JesusKnows I'd really like her to be able to run to the DMV with me and other errands around town if she feels up to it.

But, if it looks like a perfect day of Housewives of Bravo and Flip or Flop on HGTV tomorrow, I only have a few days to stay over here with them until I go back home to my house before my job starts. I can't help but take advantage of it... May even cut the grass for Jerry (no one tell him that thought crossed my mind, he'll have me out there bright and early... that push mower is brutal ya'll).

I'll wrap it up with this passage of scripture Mrs. Marcia Bracken shared with me last night:

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:9-14

~~This can translate to a variety of those of us going through hard times. Pray for each other. Lift each other up in the way we are commanded. So that we will be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might in order to gain great endurance and patience~~

Thank ya'll for being so patient on my posts. I work for the MS Braves, and baseball season is in full swing and it I'm slammed during homesteads. I appreciate all the prayers continuously being sent up for my family and of course the food. ALWAYS THE FOOD. :) 

Day 15- IN the Fire

I was asked today if writing makes me feel better. It does.... in a way.

I know everyone knows how misconstrued information can become. Like a game of telephone. I've had it happen to me constantly throughout the years... you know... all 27 of them. With Patty getting cancer, it's made me so conscious about what I say. I don't want the wrong information to get out there about her. Gossip is a vicious weapon. With my divorce, it was (still is) AWFUL. Why I tried to not talk about it. Painful too. I've had "close friends" and other couples twist information about me for the sole purpose of gossiping. I have an amicable relationship with my now ex-husband. Words can be used to hurt or heal. I've never become more aware of that fact.

These things seem so petty now. I wish the biggest problem I had was telling a gossipy ex-friend to get their facts straight about my personal life, not worrying about how sick Padre is or how much time I may or may not have with her.... which makes me want to tell the story of why we call each other that.

When we moved to Atlanta from Summit, we lived in a tiny apartment and were forced to store our belongings in a storage unit until our house in Deerfield sold-OMG SO MISERABLE. When it finally sold, we bought a house still under construction. So, by the time we were finally able to move in- it had been A WHILE. Jerry hired a moving company to speed up the process. In south Georgia, there are a lot of Latin Americans- specifically those from Mexico- which was the majority of the moving team. Obviously, there was a lot of Spanish spoken. As they are moving our things in, me and Patty couldn't stand it we were so excited to finally have a house, we kept following the movers around. Leslie was away at camp, and Graham and Jerry were outside doing stuff I'm sure. With every box brought in, there was a string of Spanish spoken followed with a "where to compadre?" directed at me and my mom. Compadre means "buddy" in Spanish. Of course, me and Patty picked it up and started calling each other compadre. Which, we still don't know how, it shortened to "Padre" over the years. We have been calling each other "Padre" since I was 16 years old. Sometimes, Jerry literally can't handle all the Padre's being spoken, because we say it in every sentence to each other. Pretty sure when I lived there I had a "OMG YA'LL CANNOT SAY PADRE ONE MORE TIME" spoken to us on more than one occasion. With every new boyfriend I brought home (like all 3 or 4 of them), he would warn them of the amount of Padre's they were going to hear to prepare them.

"Glorify ye the Lord in the fires."

Isaiah 24:15

If there was ever a new favorite verse of mine, it's that one. 

"Christ's triumph was in His humiliation. And perhaps our triumph will also be revealed through what others see as humiliation."

Margaret Bottome

Triumphing over sickness, death and other adverse circumstances in them- that's the real deal- the real triumph.

I still wish my biggest problem was catty girls and watching my mouth- but either way- I pray I can glorify God in any fire.

Patty got her port put in Wednesday morning... then straight to chemo for 3.5 hours. Yuck. Her chemo will last for 18 weeks :( and they're using the drugs Taxol and Carboplatinum. They alternate using the Carboplatinum every other week. She wasn't sick from the chemo until today. Leslie got home from Starkville and has been with her all day. When I moved out, so did my bed, so I'm going over there tomorrow. It's a lot when me and Oliver are there- you remember what I said about Jerry accusing us of disrupting his dogs? So we are waiting until tomorrow to cut down on the chaos. Hopefully she won't be as sick... she said she had not thrown up any- just that famous chemo nausea.



Just for humor purposes- that time Baxter ate blue jeans and Jerry googled the fastest he's ever googled to avoid another ER Vet visit. Hydrogen peroxide will make your dog vomit if you're quick enough- and he was. Puppy time was not a happy pup... This is how I will compare Patty's chemo treatments and how she's feeling.

When each earthly brace falls under,
And life seems a restless sea,
Are you then a God-held wonder,
Satisfied and calm and free?