Beach Weekend

Before I tell you about our wonderful weekend, I need to praise God for allowing my head to be clear enough to write this myself. In fact, I probably would not have been able to do this just a couple of days ago. I have been on steroids because of increased swelling in the brain which caused headaches and confusion. The doctors have been weaning me off of the steroids for the past couple of weeks and yesterday I took my last steroid. These steroids basically destroy your muscles, especially in your legs, leaving you very weak. They also cause swelling in your body and make you more susceptible to infections. Other symptoms are insomnia and constant hunger, which I have both. The steroids have only allowed me to sleep approximately four hours a day, and I want to eat the other twenty. I am so happy to finally be off of them. I now have a few weeks to build up my strength until I begin chemo, which will probably start after the first week of December.

Our family gifted Jeff and I with an early Christmas gift. They planned a special weekend at the beach for us. We stayed at a beautiful beachfront condo at Wildwood New Jersey. We arrived on Friday, November 4th and came home Sunday afternoon on the 7th. My wonderful son-in-laws took off work to care for their children so that we could have this special time together with our daughters. Jenna’s baby Eliza was also with us, and she was a gem the whole time. I have to give a special thank you to Chris who also kept our three dogs.

Yes, we have three dogs.

When I am at the beach I love walking along the shoreline and looking for shells. The beach where we stayed was very deep and quite the walk until you reached the shore. The girls had rented a beach wheelchair for me, so Jeff would push me to the shoreline and I was able get out and take my walks along the shore. It was so nice.

Basically the whole front of the condo was windows, so we had a large, incredible view of the ocean. I thought that the dolphins would have migrated by now, but we were entertained by them every day.

My girls, who are all great cooks, made and planned all of the meals. We laughed a lot, reminisced, and just had a wonderful time together. So the weekend basically consisted of eating, laughing, and Jeff shaking his head in disbelief at his silly girls. It has been sixteen years since we have lived together and nothing much has changed. There is one that is the boss, one that would like to take that spot, one that is extremely funny, a bit loud, and never fails to entertain us with what comes out of her mouth, and then there is our quieter one, happy to go with the flow whatever it may be. It was an unforgettable and special weekend.

Jeff and I continue to be overwhelmed and blessed by all of your cards, messages and prayers. We feel lifted by your prayers and are at peace by God’s promise of healing.

We love you all.

These are just a few of the verses that have given me the faith to believe that I will be healed.

And the multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. Luke 6:19

I am the Lord who heals you. Exodus 15:26

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:5

Jesus said to him, “If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10