Halfway Point!

Well we finally feel like we are halfway there! Today Jeremy is receiving his 6th chemo treatment. I will say he is getting a little bit irritable :), but he is hanging in there. This morning when he got up he said I do not want to do this anymore and then he tried to talk the nurse out of his treatment.......needless to say he lost out and is getting treatment. His blood levels are looking good. His hemoglobin level is a little low, but they are going to continue to watch it each week. I am so proud of how he is hanging in there. Next week will be a big week because they are going to do another PET scan on Monday and we will get the results at an appointment with Dr. B on Wednesday. I would like to say we are not nervous, but we are definitely nervous and holding our breath. We have been praying to God everyday that the PET scan will come back with good results.

Jeremy felt really good this weekend, so on Sunday we took the boys to the park to feed the ducks and play. They were so excited! It was surprisingly quite warm out, so Carter of course sweated like crazy! I swear that boy can run across the living room and break a sweat........just like his daddy. There are lots of park pics! The boys had fun and my favorite part of the day was watching Jeremy crawl through the tube because Carter didn't want to do it by himself and also watching Ian take care of his little brother. Carter was scared of going across the bridge, so each time he would go over that way Ian would hold his hand to help him get across the bridge, it melted my heart. Brotherly love........most of the time!

I shared my book I was reading last week that was so good, The Yada Yada Prayer Group. I finished it this past weekend and loved it, so last night I got on Amazon and ordered the next 3! I am counting the days til they get here! I have all next week off and lots of time to be spent at the doctors office, so I am hoping they get here before then! I bet Jeremy is hoping so too because it means more time on the computer for him! If I am into a good book I don't fight him for it! A new book I have been reading was given to me by a lady I have known and worked with for a few years. Her husband has also been going through the cancer battle and she shared an amazing book with me. It is called When God and Cancer Meet. The author of this book is a colon cancer survivor and had many of the same procedures and chemo that Jeremy is having done. She shares her story and many other cancer survivor stories throughout each chapter. It is a very uplifting book and ties in numerous cancer stories and their faith. The book was exactly what we needed and I feel so blessed that Sandra got it for us. I get many messages and emails from people that read our blog because they are either going through something similiar or they know someone who is, so this is a wonderful book to pass along to them.

Ok so now I have to share the most touching story ever. Last Thursday Jeremy and I met at his softball teams game. We haven't been able to go to one because they play on Thursdays and usually that is Jeremy's day he doesn't feel great and usually rests a lot, so this past Thursday Ian and Jeremy had a dinner date after school(story for another time :) and Carter and I had a dinner date with Ashley, Lexi, and Ayden. Afterwards we met up at the softball game. Unfortunately Cobra Kai lost their game, but after the game they wanted to get a team picture because the day of Jeremy's surgery in June they played in the tournament for the championship and won!!! The team all gathered around and they presented Jeremy with the 1st place trophy. Jeremy and I were both speechless. It was the absolute sweetest thing they ever could have done. They said the night of the championship game when Jeremy was in the hospital they said they were going to win for him and when they won they were going to present him with the trophy. We had no idea about this, but we were both so touched. I will post pics of the team as soon as I get them. As you can see the boys had to pose with the huge trophy when we got home. They are determined that trophy is going in their room! Temporarily and I do mean temporarily:) it has a special spot in the living room on the computer armoire, but eventually we will put it in their room. I can't tell you what a special group of guys and girls this is! Jeremy has played with them for years and really misses playing this season, but plans to be back up and on 3rd base next year! Thank you to Cobra Kai, it means a lot to Jeremy and myself! Hoping you bring home another trophy this season!!!!!!!

Thank you to our wonderful neighbors once again for taking care of all our yard work and for the wonderful food you always bring to us. Once again we are so blessed to have Jim and Lisa in our life. When we moved into our house, the house next door to us was empty. I remember wondering who would move in there. Little did I know at that point how important the family that moved into that house would be in our life.

Please pray for Jeremy's PET scan next week, we are praying for good news! Also pray for his treatment and that his body can continue to tolerate it in a fairly comfortable manner. One thing that I have been praying for this week is that God will continue to bless our family. As I am sure you can imagine the medical bills pile up and become a little overwhelming, but God continues to provide for us. Our family has been blessed. When this started Jeremy and I made a deal, he focuses on getting well and I will take care of the paperwork and bills. I am kind of bad because as soon as I get the mail I have to hide it because I will catch Jeremy pondering over everything and freaking out, so I hide everything. I know Fall and Winter will be a slower time in the car business, so I pray everyday that God will continue to bless us and help us to provide for our family.

I hate to disappoint with no toilet stories this week, but Carter has managed to stay out of the toilet for an entire week! I am not holding my breath though! Hope you all have a blessed week!

Wordless Wednesday

SUPER Sunday!!!!!!!!!

I should say Super Saturday and Sunday! This was such a glorious weekend! I can honestly say tomorrow I will go back to work rested, organized, and ready for a great week. I feel like the past few weeks we have just kind of skated by and things around our house have been a little helter skelter and this weekend I finally rested up on Saturday and today we got ALOT done around the house. It is so nice! We have not had many "normal" weekends or days since about June, so it was so nice to feel like we had some of our regularly scheduled programming back! Ian once again spent the entire weekend with his friend Tyler across the street, so that left Carter and I on our own all day Saturday. For starters Carter and I slept in until 11:30..........no need to go back and read that again, I did say 11:30. I know you are thinking ok this is the child that used to not sleep and when he did sleep he had night terrors and now this woman is telling me he slept until 11:30, it's for real and it was glorious!!!!! When I rolled over and looked at the clock I could not believe my eyes! Once Carter and I got up we had a little brunch, watched tv and of course some football, snuggled on the couch, and watched it rain. We cooked up some meals for the week. I fixed a Mexican lasagna(that is one of Jeremy and I's favorite), lasagna, and chicken. I decided I have to get back to my old menu making. Each week I make a menu for the week and try to fix a few of the dishes ahead of time since the week gets so busy when we are in school. The fun thing that Carter and I did was make homemade clay. He got to choose the flavor of his clay and he chose chocolate......just like his mommy would have!

Carter's little hands at work! This is him making a motorcycle! He of course did have to try the clay a few times, but I don't think it tasted that good!

So Jeremy's poor "Honey Do" list has been adding up for a while now, but I have not wanted to bother him with it. Well this morning he made the mistake of asking me what I needed done and off I went! I think he wished he had never asked! I had closet rods that needed to be hung, dustbuster hung, tv moved, gutters cleaned, backyard cleaned up, and some bushes trimmed. Can I just say that the husband of the year award goes to Jeremy today because he got it all done for me! He was even going to hang pictures for me, but we need some more picture hangers, so he got out of that one! I don't know what felt better, getting all that done around the house or seeing Jeremy feel like working around the house. It was so nice to see him have energy and feel up to doing all those things. The boys enjoyed the day so much! Of course I had to get a few pics of the boys doing their hard work! Yes Ian is helping Jeremy clean out the gutters and yes grandparents he is VERY careful! He has strict instructions from daddy when he is up there. He gets up there once a year and he loves it!

Aren't they cute? And our gutters are clean! What more can a girl ask for! Jeremy, Carter, and I went to church this morning and it was our annual outside service. This is Carter's favorite service of the year because he gets to sit outside on a big blanket with mommy and eat through the entire service! He doesn't have to be still or quiet which he loves! When we got home from church we decided to have a little pancake breakfast. Jeremy and I cooked breakfast together and I discovered that he was quite the chef. He was a little choosey on the pan he made his pancakes in and kept a close eye on my bacon I was in charge of! I learned today that I live with Emeril! Just teasing :) We had a great breakfast and the boys chowed down on pancakes......did I mention that Ian had already had breakfast with Tyler! Life with boys involves ALOT of groceries......I am learning that rather quickly!

You can go ahead and name me Mother of the Year because yes Carter did wear his hair like that to church today...........I mean it was outdoor service!

So obviously you can see from the pictures that Jeremy is feeling very good right now. Treatment this week was a little rough Wednesday through Friday, but by Saturday he was perking up a little and by today he was feeling good. He is still have a lot of trouble with the neuropathy, but he is learning to deal with it better and better each time. No appointments this week! Then chemo #6 the next, then we will be half way there!!!!!

I am reading the best book right now. My dad and stepmom got it for me for my birthday and I can't put it down.

I have been so interested in prayer and researching and reading about how powerful prayer is and this book is about a group of women that met and formed a prayer group. It is a great book and I can't wait to pass it on to others to read. I am a HUGE book sharer and have a group of girls at work that we circulate books all the time. It is great and a huge money saver. When I was looking for a picture to post on my blog of the book cover I found that is a book in a series and there are 7 of them. I am a huge series reader, so my day has been made! If you are looking for a good read this is a great book!

Well I have posted lots of different random things, so guess I should sign off for now! A few thank yous before I go:

*Once again a big thank you to Murphy and Angie for letting Ian spend the weekend with Tyler, watch the Razorbacks, and eat like a pig! Also a big thank you for all the goodies you brought us from your Tyson shopping trip. Our freezer is stocked!

*Thank you to Lisa next door for the yummy ham you made! The boys had big sandwiches tonight and already packed some for lunch tomorrow.

*Thank you to Linda for taking Ian to school last week on Jeremy's chemo day and thank you for Ian's surprise trip to Barnes and Noble. You made his day and he LOVES his Diary of a Wimpy kid book.

*Thank you to Melissa for always looking out for me and Ian and making sure we have everything we need.

*Thank you to Nanny a.k.a. Barbara for taking such good care of Carter each and everyday. I couldn't ask for a better place for him to be everyday. He loves you more and more each day he is with you. Thank you to Kambree for being his number one buddy! I promise to get some pics of the 2 of them soon!

Toilet Caper Strikes Again!

Well you guessed it! Carter struck again and yes he put Bella in the toilet! Seriously does this kid have a long term dream to work in some type of plumbing or water works. I don't get it, nor do I know how to control it. Who would have thought that I would be posting a 3rd toilet story. so I was in the bedroom watching t.v. and I thought Carter is awfully quiet, so I walked in the bathroom and there was poor Bella sitting in the toilet and Carter not only had her in the toilet because she of course had to potty(so he said!), but he had a huge wad of toilet paper in his hand and was wiping her bottom for her. This kid is crazy!!!!!!!! Part of me continues to wonder if this should be a sign that he is ready to potty train, however he has no interest in it at all. He will tell you, "No I not use potty". I really want to ration with him and say if you are big enough to play in it then you are big enough to use it and quite making us buy diapers. Ever try to reason with a 2 year old???? Doesn't work so well!

Well for today's update, we are at chemo now and Jeremy is getting his 5th treatment. So close to being at the halfway point. His blood levels were good today, however he is a little anemic. His nurse suggested that he start taking iron, so maybe that will also help with his energy level. He really didn't want to come today because he was feeling so good this past few days and his appetite was back in full force! Unfortunately though the show must go on, so grumbling back he came for his next treatment. It is actually very peaceful here this morning. Not a whole lot of people in this morning which makes it not so crazy. Lots of people sleeping today because it is so cloudy outside. I keep seeing Jeremy's eyelids droop, but they haven't completely shut yet.....they will though I can tell.

We had a night out Saturday with some good friends of ours! It was so fun! Shawn and Lori invited us to dinner with a free babysitter! Their daughters came over and stayed with Carter and we headed to Dickson and had dinner at Doe's. It was so yummy! Jeremy and I split a Porterhouse. We also had tamales(which they are famous for!) and homemade taters. It was delicious and so nice because I didn't have to take care of anyone else the whole dinner. I enjoyed my food from beginning to end and also got to have some adult conversation! Before we left Dickson we headed to Willy D's to hear the dueling pianos. I love it because those guys in there can play anything and know the words to every song imaginable! We had a great evening! I don't think Carter was ready for us to come home because he had Kennedy and Alex wrapped around his finger and they would do anything he wanted!

Now in the meantime Ian was partying it up in St. Louis with his Papaw and Tata. He had a blast! I mean who wouldn't? 3 Cardinals games sitting in 3 different parts of the stadium and he came home with more Cardinal gear than you can imagine! The Cardinals unfortunately lost all 3 games to the Braves, but he had a great time despite the losses. He was most excited about his game ball he got that was from 9/11/09. He is so proud of that ball! So a big thank you to Papaw and Tata for Ian's trip, he had a blast!
Well unless Carter is getting his picture made by the toilet we usually can't get a cheese, as you can see here. Jeremy tried to get our picture, but he wasn't very cooperative!

Thank you for the continued prayers and all of the people that have checked up on us. Please know we do appreciate it SO much!

Thank yous:

*Thank you to Miss Susie for the WONDERFUL pie! It was so yummy!

*Thank you to Shawn and Lori for a great night out and offering babysitting service!

*Of course another big thank you for our yard getting mowed! I am sure it was our wonderful neighbor Jim, but Carter and I slept the weekend away so I didn't even know it was being done.

Well signing off for now. Keep all the prayers and thoughts coming! We love you all! I would like to also say thank you to all our blog followers and supporters! I feel so much strength from all of you each and everyday. I wish I could find more time in the day so that I could update more often, but I have been making myself go to bed early and that is not easy for me. However I do feel better and it makes everyone get around earlier for bed and of course this makes our morning somewhat easier. I live with 3 boys that are NOT morning people at all, so my mornings are as good as they can be!

I luvs you..........

Ok so Carter completely melted my heart this weekend because we both have unfortunately had a nasty cold.........hence the not updating all weekend. So we have spent a lot of time in bed and on the couch together. So many times this weekend Carter has wrapped his arms around my neck and said, "Momma I luvs you". Ok so I am so smitten right now because he is not a big snuggler or love bug and it has been one of those moments I have played over and over in my memory because it is so sweet!

So things on the Jackson front are going well all except for the nasty cold that has made it's rounds to everyone except Jeremy. We are praying that Jeremy will not get struck by it considering his plate is already quite full. Jeremy is feeling really good this weekend. He stayed home and rested on Thursday and Friday. Saturday he was back at work and on Sunday his mom and step dad came for a visit. We had a very nice visit and went to have lunch at Golden Corral and then to the outdoor mall as we call it a.k.a. Promenade. We walked around and I got a few birthday goodies from kiddos and Jeremy because we haven't had time to do any shopping. I got some tennis shoes I had my eyes on for weeks, couple t-shirts(I LOVE my jeans and t-shirts!), some really cute necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. The boys played on the play set and also rode the carousel. Last time we went Ian wouldn't ride, but this time he noticed their was a Razorback, so he rode the Razorback and Carter and I rode the bench! Instead of choosing a horse he chose a sleigh bench and not just once but twice! I paid 4 dollars so we could ride in circles on a bench.......oh well he loved it!

Ian has spent 2 nights with his friend across the street, so he has been on cloud nine! He was really smart because he was on the lookout for someone that was buying the Razorback game and he scored just a few steps away from the house! We might have gotten it, but Jeremy had to work so seemed kind of silly to get a pay per view football game for me and Carter! So Ian had football, chicken wings, and a good time with Tyler! He did finally return home today, but is now off to swim with his Papaw one of the last times before the pool is closed(not one of Ian's favorite times of the year, he loves that pool!)

Last week was a great week at work. I finally feel like I have a routine with my new kiddos. We are getting into a schedule and they realize that Mrs. Jackson has some high expectations and expects them to be on their best behavior everyday:). Yes my expectations are high, but it definitely pays off. I do have a sweet group of kids, as I have said challenging but very sweet.

Well I am sure that our house is like many other this time of year. I love summer because it means being home with my kiddos, pool time, iced tea, salads, sandwiches, and my alltime favorite flip flops. However there are so many things I love about fall as well! I still love iced tea for those of you that see me on a regular basis I am rarely without it :), soups, stews, chilis, football games on tv, leaves falling, curling up with a good book, and lots and lots of reality tv comes on!

We are so happy that this is an off week and Jeremy does not have one doctor appt! I don't know who is happier......me or him........ok probably him! The hardest thing Jeremy is dealing with right now is the neuropathy has set in. He has had the cold sensation tingling in his mouth ever since he began chemo, but it has now moved to his fingertips. He first noticed it when he was at work and grabbed a car door on one of the cooler days and he said he could feel the instant tingling in his fingers. He knew then that it had settled into his fingers. He has been dreading this day, but we both knew it was coming. He said he just didn't realize how bad it would feel. I watched him yesterday pulling something out of the freezer yesterday and it went flying across the counter because it was so cold. He is going to have to be careful and conscious of this now that the weather is beginning to change.

One thing I have to share is that when we went to church Sunday morning our preacher began a new study on Practical Christian Living beginning with a study in James chapter 1. The scripture he kept referring to really hit my heart and I continued to read it over and over as he was preaching. Today when the house was nice and quiet I sat down with the scripture and a few notes that I had taken and really got a chance to think about it and digest it. The scripture he referred to was James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. As I continued to think on this our preacher, Daniel also said that "you need the wisdom to know you can face this now". Over the past few months my faith has become so much stronger and even though I still feel very dumb and inadequate with my knowledge of the bible, I feel like through our journey my faith has become so much stronger. I have become more comfortable with my faith, prayer, and my study of the bible. I was raised in church and growing up with bible stories, Sunday school, etc. but as an adult your faith becomes more. You take on a new perspective of your faith, your life, your values for yourself and your family. The last thing that just kept ringing in my head after church on Sunday was that God said believe in me and I will mature you and better you. How true is that? I mean Jeremy and I have always had a happy marriage, but our appreciation of one another is SO much more now than it has ever been. We always knew we loved one another, but now know how much we mean to one another, depend on one another, and need one another. We love our children and enjoy everyday with them, but it also makes me want to be a better parent to them and for them. God is good and as we believe in him and put our faith and trust in him we are in turn better people, a better family, and most importantly better Christians.

A few thank yous:
*Thank you to Mary for the wonderful spaghetti dinner you fixed for our family to have over the Labor day weekend. Once again your sauce was SO yummy! The kids also enjoyed the cake with sprinkles!
*Thank you to Linda for the yummy chocolate cake last week. I have to admit Ian has had some for breakfast twice, if that tells you how yummy it was!
*Thank you to once again our WONDERFUL neighbors. Carter and I both being sick all weekend of course kept me from going to the grocery store, so I thought what in the world will I feed everyone Monday and God always provides Jim and Lisa sent over a huge dish of roast and veggies that are delicious. Jeremy just got home from work(early :)!!!!) and you can smell roast and veggies because that is the first thing he went to!
*Thank you again to Murphy and Angie for having Ian over this weekend to play with Tyler and have a sleepover. He had a great time!

Speechless

So it is Chemo Tuesday and once again I am reporting live from the chemo suite, but I don't really have much to report. Very rare for me to be speechless, but I am afraid I am today. Now believe you me I could write a book on Carter, he has done a gazillion things over just the past 24 hours. The child is WILD. I love every inch of him, but he is WILD! Last night while I was cooking dinner I lost track of him and realized he was in the laundry room. I had just started a load of laundry and he apparently was helping me by dumping an entire bowl of dog food in the washer with the load of clothes! Where does he come up with this stuff????? I have no idea!

Jeremy is doing well. He has really been dreading today's treatment only because it feels like he just had one and then we are already here again. He is very tired this morning, but napping through his treatment so that is nice. It also means that he is not fighting me for the computer:).

I have to take a minute to say something about my wonderful online friends. About 7 or 8 years ago I came across a scrapbook message board that is http://www.lifepreserversclub.com/. I have met so many amazing and wonderful friends that there I have stayed close with all these years and they check on me just like my friends in real life do. One sweet lady that I met there named Roxanne and her daughter Tracy have been so good to us. Tracy has also been going through the cancer battle, so Roxanne and Tracy have shared their story with us and been encouragers through this entire time. They have sent us wonderful resources and words of wisdom. They also walked in a Relay for Life walk that benefits cancer and one of the people they walked in support of was Jeremy. They made an adorable bag with a picture of him and the boys(picture coming soon with all the others!). It was so cute! These 2 ladies are so sweet and have given us so much support and wisdom through this time. Thank you Tracy and Roxanne!

Isn't the web such an amazing place! I love getting in contact with all my friends from jr. high, high school, college, etc. It is so wonderful! I love being able to catch up with old friends and finding new friends it is SO wonderful and such a blessing. Who knew that we would have such an amazing tool to use. I feel like even though I am kind of out of the loop with all we have going on that I can get online and catch up really quick! So between my blog, facebook, and email I love it!!!!!!!!