My sister (Vel) and Brother-in-Law (Bob) are here visiting from back east. I can’t believe they are here. They stopped by to see Ann and also Monique. They had great visits with them. It’s wonderful to have them here. Next weekend we are looking forward to our other kids and grandchildren to come. We are busy being together. Vel and I love to talk and shop. The guys like to talk while we shop. Hee-hee. Have a great week. Hugs

Bob is back to work. He still has some pain but takes Naproxen for it and his face is not all healed yet. Other than that he is doing good. I just got a cold – the old fashion kind but am almost over it. Today I took it easy. At 5:00, I’ll walk to Bob’s office and we are going to walk around the fairground. Tomorrow I plan to join a few friend’s to learn how to do Calligraphy. Ann use to teach it. It is such pretty writing, I hope I can learn. It will come in handy when I do my cards and scrapbooking.

Hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Birthday to my sister Lil yesterday and also my good friend Judy on the 18th.

Have a great week and Hugs.

Hi all,

Bob said last night was the best he’s had in many weeks. The pain is easing up. It is worse in the evenings but then that’s always with pain. That’s something I remember Ma saying and I feel is true.

His face is also much better. He still has some scabs but the swelling is almost all gone.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. I’m so glad so see him smiling and his sense of humor returning.

Hugs to you all,
Lina

We have been seeing the doctors Tuesday and Wednesday. Bob has one more appointment Friday. They all say he is getting better but it will take a while. He is in so much pain – taking lots of vicodin. Don’t worry I’m doing all the driving. They say the pain could go for weeks (and also the pain might not go away). Please pray that it does. He took vicodin through the night. He is sitting reading the paper this morning and watching TV. But looking at him the pain comes in rushes.

I just called my niece and told her we would not be going to her husband’s funeral. I thought of flying but I don’t think I should leave Bob at this time. Our daughter Monique will be there. By-the-way Monique – Happy Birthday Today. Big hugs to you.

Have a good day. Hugs
Lina

Some of you know Bob has been sick since Monday morning when he woke up with swollen glands. The Oncologist said it had to be an infection and gave a prescription for antibiotics. Tuesday he noticed a scab on his nose was getting worse and his face was swelling up and it hurt. So we drove to his Dermatologist. One look at him and he said, “You have Shingles.” Bob said, “No I don’t, I got a vaccination.” Doctor said, “Yes, you do.” Anyway, his whole face and neck is swollen and looks awful. He hasn’t been eating or sleeping. The Dermatologist and Oncologist talked so they could prescribe the correct medication. He is taking a few. Also tomorrow we have to talk to the Optometrist for an appointment because there is a nerve from the nose to the eye that could be affected. His right eye doesn’t look good and so it’s a concern. So we will know more later. We are assuming he got shingles because his immune system is down. But we will have to talk to the Oncologist to see if that is true. Tonight I hope he will sleep better. Hugs.

We just spent an hour with the new Oncologist near home. We liked him and he seemed to be very knowledgeable about Lymphoma.

First off, we found out today that Bob had Lymphoma in 2004.

When the Urologist operated on him for his prostate and found the enlarged lymph nodes on each side, he had them sent to the lab. They came out non-cancerous for Prostrate. But the doctor we saw today said that the chemical they use in testing for Prostate is different than the one they would have used for the type of cancer Bob has. If they had run that kind of test they would have seen Small Cell Lymphoma. So Bob having had Small Cell Lymphoma since 2004, tells us that it is growing at a snails pace.

The doctor did a physical exam on Bob today. He felt a gland under his right arm that is about 1 centimeter. The other was in the groin and about the size of a pea. This is the first time that he has had a Physical exam where the doctor applied strong pressure like this doctor.

So the verdict is that we Watch and Wait and NOT do the treatments now. Also there is no need for another Pet Scan because there will not be enough change, if any. Bob has an appointment for March for blood work (check the red and white blood cells) and a doctor’s appointment on April 5 at 9:00 AM. The doctor says that the treatments are too aggressive to have done at this moment. And if he needs it in 10 years, the treatments might be better than what is used now. He says with this type of cancer, they don’t use the word cure but it’s pretty darn close.

I asked him about the 10 to 20 years life expectancy and he said who knows, it could be more. The doctor said that we should put this information in our back pocket and go on with our lives.

Hugs to you all and have a good evening.

Happy New Year Everyone!
What a wonderful Christmas we had. All the kids were here with us for 4 days. Some were sick but I think they still enjoyed their Christmas. As always, Memere’s Chicken Stew got us all in the mood for Christmas. What is it about the wonderful aroma of that soup that makes us all so happy. We ate, we prayed, we partied, we opened gifts, we laughed, we drank, we hugged, and ate some more. Whew! I planned on way too much food.
We were a big group and it was a lot of planning but, Oh so worth it! The grandkids made Christmas exciting. It was so much fun having everyone all together.
Here is a picture of most of us.

We also celebrated Bob’s birthday on Dec. 26. He did a blind wine tasting for all of us. Leslie won! She guessed the most wines correctly. Thank you Daniel and Denise for the wine.

We even took in some sight-seeing while everyone was here.
Today we are being lazy. I think Bob has a cold. It’s hard to tell with his allergies. Next week he sees a new doctor and we will let you know more on that later.
Hugs to you all.

We are anxiously awaiting the kids to arrive today and tomorrow. The weather will be cold but clear for the next few days so the little ones can go outside some of the time to release some energy. Uncle Dave will be with us on Christmas day and we will once again have the Blind Wine Tasting and contest on Saturday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hi all.

Bob has an appointment with an oncologist closer to home in January. He also has a PET Scan scheduled.

We have decorated the outside of the house and the inside. We think our Christmas tree is spectacular. It sparkles. We finished addressing our Christmas cards today and will have them in the mail tomorrow. Next week we are going to bake and plan our meals for Christmas time for when the kids are here. We are so looking forward to them all coming. With 6 grandchildren it will be lively. Christmas is such an awesome time for them. They love the lights. Click on the tree to see it bigger.

We want to take this time to wish you all a blessed and safe Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. Hugs to all of you from us.

Happy Birthday Joe! This is Monique’s Joe. I just realized there is more than one Joe in the family. This weekend we went to Monterey to visit our friends Jack and Joan. We had a great time with them. We were only suppose to stay for one night but ended up staying two. It was great being with them and loved what they did to their new home. We think they will be very happy there. It’s so close to the ocean. Here is a picture of the Pacific Ocean. If you click on it, you will see it a bigger picture. It was hard choosing one. Bob finally chose this one cause he said it was typical Monterey. We are both fine and starting to get into the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We will be with Bob’s brother Dave. Hugs, Bob & Lina