thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
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Beautiful banner, Ade. I'm so glad that James' doctor is increasing the dosage of his migraine medication and praying that it gives him relief. It's frustrating indeed that your dentist wouldn't do a new filling while you were already there in the chair. I hope you're not in too much pain.
Nancy, I pray that you are feeling better today. I've been thinking a lot about Ellen, too.
GB, I hope the dose reduction helps with side effects. Are you on a 2-week or 3-week AC cycle?
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Good morning sisters,
Chris, that is very special and I pray that this cruise will be healing, restorative and joyful for you. I love looking out at the earth's curvature on the ocean's horizon and thinking how vast God is and how great His love for us. He has miraculous resources so far beyond our comprehension, and I pray every one for you. I pray for many special moments on the trip... I second Nancy's retail therapy.
GB, I'm so sorry about the nausea and initial chemo setbacks. I wish I knew more about helpful remedies during chemo. I researched a bit this morning and did see one resource in particular, which may be similar to helpful ideas they may already have given you: https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/managing-chemotherapy-induced-nausea-and-vomiting.asp . I know it is very frustrating and am praying that it begins to go well. Do you have a good probiotic? (Probiotic 225 by Orthomolecular does wonders to turn things around but it can be pricy). You are in my prayers throughout the day.
Nancy, I'm sorry that yesterday was such a trying day and I hope that you were able to catch up on some of that missed sleep last night.
Yesterday's one hour CT scan and radiation mapping session was difficult but is now in the rear view mirror. From there I was just in time to meet my new medical oncologist across town whom I really liked. The appointments erased 5 hours and two important meals from my day. I can't cook meals in doctors' offices or from my car, but hopefully the constant dr visits will be past soon. I am starting to carry protein bars, nuts (I was steered away from peanuts during cancer treatment so now it's pecans, walnuts and macadamia nuts). My hungry eyes noticed all of the restaurants in the area near where I will have the seven weeks of radiation. Ade, my father had debilitating headaches. I pray for James often and I hope Ezra hasn't chewed anything too valuable. Our last pup stuck to chewing puzzle pieces so it could have been far worse.Heading out in a bit to stock up on food and supplies. I hear the samples are back at Costco. We shall see.
Love and blessings,
Esther
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And Hershey, I am praying for your mom. How sad that they interrupted her precious visit with your uncle at only 15 minutes. Too bad he was not able to walk out and come back in for another precious 15 minutes together. She must have been so glad to see him. I'll keep her in my prayers as well.
Blessings,
Esther
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It's a 2 week cycle. Wish it were 3. Saw colorectal about my rear issues and she gave me advice and I'm to call back if I can't go by tomorrow.
Oral thrush just popped up too. I was given a swish and swallow so just started that. Sheesh.
I'm supposed to be back at work on Monday. I hope some of this turns a corner by then. I did manage a bit of lunch.
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The Lord is our Rock no matter what we are facing. Some of you have started or are about to start your treatments. He will get you through all of those appointments which seem to never end and those treatments which can seem like an eternity when you are in the middle of them. I didn't realize I had posted this just in March so sorry for the repeat but I thought it appropriate for this time many of you are in now.
I remember feeling so blessed with my cancer team and they made things so much more tolerable with their compassion and caring. I pray that each one of you will have that experience as you begin your treatments.
Ester, I am glad you got through the mapping session. Seven years ago my shoulder was injured during a breast ultrasound. (Yeah, I know.........pretty crazy huh?) I had shoulder therapy while I was doing radiation. Before I started I was so concerned as I was not sure I would be able to move my shoulder during my treatments. My RO said that the techs have ways of doing things to cater to individual situations. I am glad you got through the mapping and that would be the hardest part as far as staying in one position for a long time. The treatments themselves are very short. Maybe only five minutes and most of that time is being sure you are aligned correctly. You asked me about my fountain. In the long post I lost I mentioned my fountain and I would love for you to hear the sound of it but I am a photographer not a videographer so even if I made a short video getting to post here would be more than I want to take on right now. I can send a pic of it but I need to give it a good cleaning as the hot and humid weather do a number on the outdoor fountains. I like your avatar. Yes, I have protein bars with me all the time. Great when appointments disrupt your eating schedule.
GB, working in all of this has to be very difficult. I do hope you will feel much better by Monday and pray that your side effects that have been plaguing you will have greatly improved by then. Eating some lunch is a good sign. We are all praying for you!!
Hershey, I do feel 100% better today. I only got an hour and half sleep the night before and had to get up very early to meet a contractor. Last night I was so exhausted I must have fallen asleep in record time (for me) and have felt good today. I did send Ellen an email last night thinking maybe she might be up to checking that. I had responded to her PM two weeks ago and have heard nothing. That is not like her. I sent her a card and nothing. Again not like her. Frankly I am very, very concerned and I don't have any contact info to other family members. I could send her husband a note in the mail if too much time goes by. That is the disadvantage of not having ways of contacting family on this site. One time quite a few years ago we tried to set up a buddy system in case someone was too ill to post. Most from that era are not on the forum anymore. All we can do is pray for her now and that she is ok. Are you enjoying working from home after all of these months?
This is totally off any subject but I am battling Canada Thistle in my flower beds and the invasive nature of this awful weed is now popping up in my grass. I have been researching what I can use safely without harming my flowers and shrubs nearby. I had been pulling them up by the roots and some places say if you do that you will end up with multiple weeds that will pop up in its place. Yes, that has been the bane of my summer existence with my flowers this year and last. If any of you have had any luck using the home methods such as spraying vinegar etc I would love to hear your experiences. Vinegar can harm any other growth too so that is not a fail safe method.
Take care my friends.
Love,
Nancy
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I just returned from the second funeral and feel it all went well. The sisters are still at odds, but independently each feels thay can talk to us. That is a good step.. The ceremony at sea was actually very nice, a first time for me, and my DH and I are talking about it for us. At least it started the conversation. We were able to take our DD and DGD so that lightened the mood as the boat ride out to sea and back was enjoyable. I am still mentally and physically exhausted but will survive.
I am sending prayers for you all, for your rest, your treatments, and the other struggles that accompany us all at this time. I know God cares and is present with us to guide us through. Many blessings on you all.
Chris
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Dear Chris,
I am glad you are through your funerals and I am sure your attendance was comforting to the families. The sisters each talking to you hopefully will begin good communication with each other. I am sure you are exhausted but I am glad the boat trip was enjoyable and I imagine your DDG loved it. Since we live no where near an ocean I have never attended a burial at sea before either. I already have my headstone in place next to my parents in a very small cemetery in the country. I did this the summer after I went through treatments in 2014. I don't know why I did but I wanted to be sure I was buried next to my parents and if something happened to me I wanted my family to know what my wishes were.
I went out tonight to chase the sunset and that was a bust. I did get some pics of a paraglider but I don't think they are going to be very good. I haven't uploaded those yet. I came home to catch the moonrise. This is one night short of the full moon but the weather looked a little iffy for tomorrow night.
Here is the almost full moon from tonight.
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Here's my submission: Marty has his office set up in the corner of our living room so he gets to watch the action in the trees and plants. He called me in to "look at something funny" today. We have a neighbor across the back fence and over one who has a peach tree. Apparently there is a squirrel who is stealing the peaches and then stashing them in our cedar tree. Too funny!
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Nancy, your photo of the moon is amazing. Have you thought about submitting it to one of the local TV stations or newspapers? Regarding my work situation, I am still a remote employee. There are rumors that remote workers will be called back to the office in August, but I've not received anything official from HR. Last month in a Zoom meeting, the company nurse said, "there are still people we need to protect." I'll continue to work remotely until I'm told otherwise.
Carol, I enjoy watching those clever squirrels as long as they stay out of my vegetable garden. ;-)
GB, I hope you are feeling better today. I'm praying that a dose reduction will lessen your side effects.
Ade, there was a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution regarding a headache study at the University of North Carolina. I thought of you and James. Here is the article link.
Esther, thank you for praying for my mom. Her assisted living facility suffered a significant COVID outbreak last year during the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years surge. There were a total of 45 COVID cases (my mom was one of them). The facility has taken a robust stance to protect residents and staff, and I get that. Still, it's sad. My mom told me that there were tears of joy when my uncle arrived to visit and tears of sadness when he had to leave.
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Carol, so you caught the thief in action. LOL If I had an office looking out at all the animal action I wouldn't get anything done!!!!!!!!!!!!! My last ten years of teaching, both of my areas to teach and NO windows at all. Maybe there was a reason for that
Hershey, that you for your nice compliment. Actually I was watching the Chicago new station last night and they have weather photos they show every night. Last night they were showing a sunflower field. Last summer I submitted a sunflower field photo to this station and he showed it air and even mentioned some other personal things I had shared with him in an email. So when I saw that sunflower photo being showcased last night I did think about submitting my moon photo as I have never seen one up close before. I hope you can remain working remotely. Especially with this new variant being a very real threat I feel like we are moving backwards in defeating the virus.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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Carol, that squirrel story is great! Aren't they the characters! We adopted two orphan squirrel babies many years ago and bottle fed them. They were swarmed with fleas and ticks and we bathed them in the bathroom sink (with the bugs scrambling up our arms) - but the babies thanked us for it. They were named Chip and Dale. We made a large round cylinder cage of hardware cloth for them and they'd race around in it like lightning. We strung a jeans pant leg across it for their sleeping hammock and they loved that. However, they chewed a hole in the bottom center of it and when they'd carry up their walnut stash it always fell through to the bottom - where they would start the process all over again...over and over and over. When they grew old enough we released them at the neighbor's pond where there were plenty of nut trees. We supplemented their food for quite some time until they learned to hunt on their own. That was just one of the orphaned species we took in as the kids were growing up on the farm.
Nancy, your moon photo is TOTALLY awesome! An award winner for sure! James has always tried to get a shot like that but can't with my lil' ol' Nikon D40. Wish I could afford to get him a good one. Daughter Emily's cameras cost as much as my car did! Ages ago we took a picture of our Airedales running through a huge snow drift next to the house and the local news put that on. Also I saw a funnel one day, called Emily out of her studio (that was in our garage) and she submitted that and the NATIONAL news had it on "from a photographer in South Charleston Ohio". Pretty cool. Glad you got some sleep. James has trouble with that too. He is being put on Amitriptyline for migraine prevention and the doc thinks that might help with his sleep. It is also good for depression and anxiety as well as migraine prevention. I did well on it for all of the above...just 25mg. minimum dose. As far as the weeds.. I'm no help.
Hershey thank you for the link - much appreciated!
GB, hang in there! Praying your multiple symptoms will subside and you can go back to work comfortably. One step closer to healing day by day.
Chris, glad you were able to attend the at sea service. We have a memorial service tonight for a dear friend. He passed some time ago but covid prevented a service for him. He died in his wife's arms at home of a heart attack, knowing that with covid hospital rules he would die alone separated from his wife. They had just celebrated 60 years of marriage last summer. I pray God grants you wisdom to help bring peace and reconciliation to the sisters.
Esther, glad you got the mapping ordeal over with and can now move on to healing treatments. We are so thankful for our Great Physician!
Praying for you all,
Ade
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My mom passed...
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GB, I am so sorry for your loss. I pray for rest, comfort, and peace for you and your family. God bless.
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GB, I am so sorry for your loss. I pray that God will comfort you as only He can and that He will wrap His ever loving arms of comfort around you and your family. I pray for strength during this difficult time.
Love,
Nancy
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GB, I am sorry for this deep loss. May God grant you peace in the midst of your mourning.
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I'm so sorry, GB. I know that she is free from all pain and alive with God at this very moment but how hard this is for you. I pray that Jesus holds you very close at this time.
Love,
Esther
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Ahhh, definitely a breath of fresh air this morning! Thank you for sharing that, Nancy.
Happy Sunday to all...
Carol
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GB, I am so sorry for your loss, May the Lord grant your heart comfort now and in the days ahead.
IS. 49:13b - FOR THE LORD COMFORTS HIS PEOPLE AND WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON HIS AFFLICTED ONES.
Sending a hug and lifting you and your family up in prayer,
Ade
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Dear sisters, I am praying for each of you during my Bible and prayer time. I would asked if you could say a quick prayer for two of my cousins.
I just heard about this a few days ago. One of my cousins just lost her 50yr old son in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Also another cousins lost her 47 yr old son to Covid recently. My sister lost her son at 36yrs old and I know how extremely difficult this has been for her and it is something she will never ever get over.
Love,
Nancy
Romans 12:12New International Version
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
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Nancy, I am so sorry to hear of these losses. My friend lost her son to a heart attack suddenly a month ago and it is truly devastating for any mother to lose a child of ANY age. Please know I am praying for them. The verse above for GB certainly applies to this sad situation too.
IS. 49:13b - FOR THE LORD COMFORTS HIS PEOPLE AND WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON HIS AFFLICTED ONES.
Love,
Ade
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Nancy, I am sorry to read about all these losses. I will pray for your cousins as they mourn the loss of their sons. Our world is hurting in so many ways right now. I pray for those who have suffered loss and pain during these difficult times.
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Thank you Ade and Chris for your prayers. Life can be so difficult at times. I do appreciate your prayers and I am sure my cousins will as well.
I HAVE A REQUEST IF YOU COULD ALL PLEASE JOIN IN. ELLEN'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW AND I WANT US TO ENCOURAGE HER WITH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISH.
I have not heard from her since July 5 but in that message she said some of her relatives were going to come on July 31 to celebrate her birthday. She had been in the hospital for two weeks in June. The doctors have discovered low heart function but as far as a solution to her mysterious illness I believe she was going to be having more testing after getting home. I don't know if she is even able to get on a computer at this point but I do think she would be encouraged if she knew we were all pulling for her, praying for her and wishing her a Happy Birthday. I am going to send her another photo card and ask her to look on the BCO site if she is able.
Thank you all for always being an encouragement to me and to others.
Love,
Nancy
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ELLEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Dear sisters, I am joining you in prayer for these difficult losses. I won't forget to keep lifting up these requests.
Blessings,
Esther
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Happy Birthday, Ellen!
Blessings in Jesus,
Esther
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I hope your special day brings all the things that make you smile.
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BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS, ELLEN!
WE'RE ALL PRAYING FOR YOU.
LOVE,
ADE
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Hershey, your cake for Ellen looks amazing. Now why can't they make those with stevia in the frosting instead of sugar? Hm.. maybe they do!
Blessings,
Esther
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Thank you all for your prayers and thank you for your BEAUTIFUL posts to Ellen. I know if she is able to see these posts she will be encouraged. I just got her card off to her yesterday. Yeah, I know..... I was late. I knew her birthday was near mine but it crept up on me. I did put an extra note in for her to look on the BCO site so I am hoping she will be able to do that. She is hooked to a heart monitor 24/7 but I am not sure just what that means as far as her mobility. Hershey, my 70th birthday is this coming Tuesday. Can you bake me a cake with my name on it. LOL I have three questions. How did you find that? Did you bake it yourself? or are you not telling? Esther, I love butterflies and they are my most favorite subject for photography. I have never seen an animated image so life like. Amazing. I'll take my frosting with stevia also. My only sweetener I ever use. All of your posts are special. Ellen will be touched.
I have good news and not so good news. My sister and I signed all the legal documents for the realtor yesterday and last night and my parent's house that we inherited is finally on the market. My sister did the boat load of work after I was there three weeks in May to help. She put the for sale sign in the yard today and when she got home her husband came walking out and telling her he had just fallen off the ladder. He fell and hit the back of his head on the concrete. So she is going to wake him every two hours to be sure he does not have a concussion. He fell on the ice this winter and has been in PT for his shoulder.
Thank you all for being so supportive and encouraging to not only me but to each other. GB we are still lifting you up during this most difficult time. Let us know how you are doing when you can.
Love,
Nancy
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