Appetite picking up

So Ric's appetite has really started picking up. We had a nice salmon dinner last night. He had a bowl of oatmeal & a bowl of cereal for breakfast before church. Then after church one my dear friends brought some good healthy stuff for chicken tacos. Ric really enjoyed them - he ate 4 tacos! Seems kinda wierd to be talking about what he's eating but these little things have become a big deal. Some other longtime friends visited with us this afternoon which was really nice. So he says he is now up for visitors but please call us if you'd like to visit him so we can space the visitors out as we don't want to wear him out. Holly's boyfriend was a real blessing to us yesterday. He cleaned the yard & mowed the lawn - spent all day working on it. He's a great guy - we are so glad he is a part of our lives. I just love how God knows what we need & when we need it. Today's message at church was so right on for us & Todd was a guest speaker. Just letting us know that we are not alone! Everyone keeps asking what they can do for us - really right now just praying for Ric's healing is what we need. We will definitely let you know if there is anything else we need. Thank you all for loving us the way you do!

Saturday

Didn't get a chance yesterday to update the blog. Ric was able to get outside for a short walk down the driveway & back - nice to get out for some fresh air & sunshine. We received a very nice potted plant with blooming tulips, dracaena, hyacinthus, & asparagus fern from our MacMiller Family. Thank you so much! We really miss you all & look forward to when we can be back full time. Yesterday we did alot of talking about this whole situation, our concerns & fears which was a very healthy thing to do. We are not sure where this journey will take us but we know that we have to trust God to guide us in the direction we are to go next. We have decided that Ric's fight with this cancer is similar to the story of David & Goliath. It seems like a much bigger obstacle than us & pretty overwhelming at times but we are measuring this obstacle against the size of our God. We cannot measure this obstacle against our own strength as none of us has the strength to endure it on our own. As I posted on my Facebook page this morning from something I had read, "God lights the path we walk. Sometimes we can see far ahead but other times we have only enough light to see where we need to take our next step completely with our faith in Him knowing that, although we might stumble, He will not let us fall." Keep the thoughts & prayers coming our way as you are a part of our team that is helping us keep the strength to endure this journey. Love you all! Roxanne

Field Trip

This morning Ric got up & headed straight to the computer to check e-mail. I would say he's feeling much better. He also worked on his niece Natalie's laptop & his other niece Celie's laptop. He finally got out of the house today too. We went to the doctor to get the staples taken out of his incision. He said that definitely helped alot. We stopped by the store for a couple items and had a burrito at La Casita. That helped his mood alot to get out, get some fresh air and do something that seemed sort of normal. So a good day in all!

Isn't our daughter amazing - love her post from yesterday. We are truly blessed to have such awesome kids (adults). Ric keeps getting better every day. I'd like to think it's all the healthy stuff I'm making him eat & drink and I'll keep telling him that so he keeps sticking with it! Today's smoothie was asparagus, cauliflower, apple, banana, blueberry, strawberry, honey, carrot, brussel sprout and a little plum juice. I'm gonna throw some kale in there tomorrow & see how that goes :) He is getting solid food too for those of you who might think I am only giving him the healthy smoothie. He's rarely needing to take the pain meds which is good. Would be nice if we could get some sunshine & a little warmer temps so he could walk outside. It's not the same walking around the house but it will have to do for now. It was a sad day yesterday with the loss of our cat Ollie. She was definitely a character. Most people didn't even know we had her as she always hid when company came by. She did not like other people & pretty much only liked Holly & I. When I used to have a stuffed bear collection Ollie would take & drag them to various parts of the house I think just to freak me out. One day I came home & she had 3 of them lined up in the hallway all of them with their butts up in the air. She would talk to them too. At first I thought the house was possessed or something but caught her a couple times in the middle of the night dragging them around & talking (mewing) to them. Ollie wasn't a "talkative" cat to people - occasionally she would mew at me when she was hungry but didn't make much noise. That's why we didn't realize she was as sick as she was - she was always hiding, didn't make noise & did not like to be picked up or rarely petted. If you pet her for too long she would attack you. Anyway she will be really missed. So now I'm gonna take a moment for a pitty party & then move on. Today Ric & I were supposed to be in Cancun until next Monday. We have never been there & were really looking forward to this trip. It was at one of those all-inclusive resorts & for the wedding Saturday of the son of good friends of ours. We are bummed to not be able to attend Anthony & Kaitlan's wedding & be able to spend some time in a warm sunny climate! Rocky & Ember are there so they will bring us back lots of pictures. But we are also grateful that Ric's situation was revealed to us before we were so far away from home. It would have been horrible for him to be out of the country & in as much pain as he was the last few weeks. So as Holly said yesterday we are so grateful for all the love, support & prayers from all of you. We are so blessed to have such awesome friends, family & neighbors! Roxanne

Home Life

Dad is doing pretty good at home. He had tacos last night and eggs & cereal this morning. He's been taking little walks around the house, and I (Holly) loaded up on some DVD's from my brother's house, so he can have some entertainment.
We got a special delivery of organic vegetables & fruits, and kale (sp?)- thank you to the Kuhns for having that delivered. My mom will be very happy to start putting it in Dad's diet! Although, from what I heard, Dad won't be that happy about the taste of the kale! Hahaha...

On a sad side note, we found out on Saturday evening (before Dad was released) that my cat, Ollie, had advanced stages of cancer. (Weird coincidence, right?!) The vet said there wasn't much we could do, so she gave her an anti-inflammatory shot and told us to make her comfortable for the remainder of her life. She passed away last night. Obviously, it was very emotional since the timing couldn't be worse... however, I'm glad that she's not in pain and is now resting in peace. The house will be a lot more quiet and not as "fun" without her spunky personality around.

I think what this whole experience, so far, has taught us is that life is SO short, and no one- whether young, old, healthy, sick - is promised tomorrow. We have been blessed to be shown how strong our family is, and feel very fortunate that we all live close and are able to be together during a time like this.
I hope that you all learn something from this too... I hope you take this time to reevaluate the way you are living your own life- should you mend some fractured relationships with your family members? Should you tell someone you love them, because they might not know? Should you be making better decisions about what you put in or do to your body? What is truly important in your life? Money, clothes, cars, work... they all are completely insignificant when you are faced with the thought of losing someone you love.
I know I've learned that my personal relationships mean the world to me, and I'm happy to spend the rest of my life letting everyone I love, know that. I will overuse "I love you". :)

Thank you again for all the love and support, we still are overwhelmed by the amazing friends and family we have. We feel truly blessed.
Love-
Holly

Yeah he's home

Ric got to go home from the hospital this afternoon! It is so nice to have him here and maybe we both will finally get some sleep tonight. It's been a long 10 days since I had to take him to Overlake. Now he just needs to continue healing up from the surgery before we take the next step. So keep those prayers coming for his healing!

A little bump in the road

Well a little bump in the road today. He has a slight infection in the lower part of his incision so they had to clean it out and will need to do it several times today. Won't be going home today - maybe tomorrow. He's very disappointed as he really wants to be home but it's better that it happened while we are still here rather than home and having to come back through the ER since it's the weekend. So prayers for the infection to clear up quickly! Roxnne