The magic of SUN

To anyone who knows me, it is no surprise that this time of year can get me down. I love warm weather but especially the SUN.....If I was a pagean.....I know I would have worshipped the sun god. Since I am a Christian, I give my thanks to the real creator of such wonders and thank my Heavenly Father! Anyway, it was wonderful to get away for a short weekend in Orlando. It was 75 degrees all weekend except to the day we left when it rained and returned to the 60's. We were able to attend the Orlando Temple and shop until we dropped on saturday and then Kelly wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom for the day. It was so cute to see all the little girls dressed up like princesses and even some boys got into character as pirates. We hit the usual rides and they brought back such wonderful memories of when we took the kids there when we were little. It was not crowded at all so we arrived around 10 am and were out of the park by 6 pm. We then went out to eat and hit the hot tub at the hotel pool. The next day we did a little thrift store shopping before we got on the plane. All in all it was a wonderful quick trip. I have added a few pictures and hope you enjoy them.
I am heading off to my LAST chemo treatment in awhile and I have not had hardly any back pain....YEAH..I was able to talk to my doctor on the way to the airport about it and he felt that I strained my back exercising so much after my surgery and did not think it had anything to do with the cancer. That was wonderful to hear and made me feel a lot better. He just told me to take it easy and let it heal. I had very little trouble with my back on vacation and was able to sleep really well.
I have a dear friend who is having shoulder surgery today at the hospital near the cancer center so I plan to run over and check on her after my treatment. She is a wonderful woman who I call my "Grandma". Her and her husband have been a wonderful support to us as well as our Relief Society President who I call "MOM". Anyway, I certainly can't mention all of the wonderful people in my life as you all contribute to me being able to keep a positive attitude and the faith to carry on. I love all of you and your thoughts and prayers especially. Richelle

I am NOT super woman

Well, as most of you know, the surgery went well. I was doing laundry the next day. And then 3 days post-op I went a a 3 mile power walk with some of my friends. It was wonderful to enjoy the fresh air and warmer temperatures. BUT, it was a huge mistake as I found out that night and the next day when I had horrible back pain. I have not really had to take any pain meds since my diagnosis but I did those days. It really scared me because I wanted to blame it on the walk but it was always in the back of my mind that maybe the cancer was getting worse. I even called to see which doctor was on call and got on the internet (which only scares the crud out of me. Thankfully, after that night and the following day my back was not hurting anymore and believe me, I said a prayer of thanks. The scary thing with this disease is that you are always on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop even though I do have the faith that I will be around for the next 30 years.
This weekend we have a trip to Orlando. I am really looking forward to the warmer weather. We plan to do some shopping and hopefully some river tubing. I really just want to spend time with my family. Again, I love all of you for keeping up with me and your thoughts and prayers. Love you all.

Under the knife

Well today is the day. I have surgery at noon and have not eaten since yesterday around noon so I am starving! The surgery is minor as they are just taking out my remaining ovary. I look at it as just another step to getting better. I am anxious for it to be over as well as my last chemo treatment. My doctor let me put that off for one more week as we are going to Orlando for a 3 day weekend that Kelly has off. She does not get much time off from school so we did not want to spend it with me being sick. We got inexpensive tickets there so we decided it was a great time to go thaw out. Part of me though, would like to go ahead and get the chemo ASAP just to get it over with. I am also having the genetic testing done at my next appointment so that my girls will know what their risk is.
I had lunch with a few of my tennis friends yesterday and it was such fun to do something normal. We also painted some friends living and dinning room this weekend and then sat down (on the floor) to a wonderful pizza dinner. It is times like those that I appreciate more and more. I have come out of my slump and am doing better but as another friend reminded me......it's OK....we all have our moments. Pray for me today and thanks for being such wonderful friends!

It finally happened.....a BIG DOWN DAY

Ok, I know the chemo is needed and it is keeping my cancer in check but the only thing keeping me going at this point is the fact that I only have to endure one more dose of the stuff....it is brutal. I had a good cry yesterday with my wonderful and sympathetic husband. I guess I was due. It all just added up......No energy, trying to keep my fingernails from coming off, the cramping which caused other issues, my husband being gone for 2 weeks in India, my impending surgery to remove my last remaining ovary, the realization that I have wasted 4 days off with my husband and daughter lying flat on my back, and beinng unable to taste anything. This STINKS! I don't mean to sound ungrateful and I don't mean to give the impression that I have no faith......but darn it.....I needed to cry and feel sorry for myself. I feel a little better today so I am on the upswing and feeling like I can deal with everything a little better. I know this is normal but I am such a naturally positive person that it feels very uncomfortable and foreign to feel this way. I need to pray more and count my blessings and this to shall pass...Keep your prayers coming my direction. I love all of you.