What Cancer is Teaching Me

Posted in #LifeWins, Marriage by
#LifeWins

Owen at the hospital on May 4th.

As most of my readers know, on May 4th my husband was diagnosed with cancer. We learned after some tests that he has stage 2 Malignant Thymoma. He has been in a lot of pain. He has lost a lot of weight. And so we eagerly await the surgery needed to remove the 10 cm sized tumor in his chest.

On the other hand, we do not look forward to the likely chemotherapy that he may have to take prior to the surgery or after.

Either way, given that we have an HMO, everything has taken forever to move forward. He finally has his appointment with the surgeon this Tuesday, June 2nd. So we’ve had 1 month of waiting. And during this 1 month, Cancer has taught me 6 Things:

1. That God loves us, and will be with us through this fire.

We know that cancer is a byproduct of living in a fallen world. God promises to redeem this world and one day, after all who will come to him come to him, he will recreate the Earth, and there will be no more death, crying, sadness, or pain because all the old ways will be gone. But until that glorious day, we get illnesses. But God promises to those who love him and are called according to his purpose, that he will be with them by either keeping them from the fire, or being with them through the fire. I don’t know why Owen has been allowed to have a type of cancer with a good prognosis while others do not. I do not know why Owen has been allowed to have cancer when others do not. But I don’t doubt God’s love for us or any other cancer victim for that matter. God love us all so much he sent his son to die on a cross, so that one day, we can rise again and live forever in his presence no matter how we have rebelled against him in our lives. We can put up with Cancer knowing what awaits us in eternity. But even here in this age, I know he can use Cancer to do good. And that he plans to do that with us. He is allowing it, to do good in our lives.

2. We have an amazing network of people in our lives.

Honestly, it has been quite humbling. You all make me want to be a better person. You have reached out to us and blessed us more than we have ever helped and blessed others. I’ll pray. I’ll make an occasional meal. I’ll make a small donation here and there. But that’s about it. I mean we have people who are not even friends reach out to us. One person, for example, whom we have nothing in common with and with whom we have even heatedly debated our differences reach out and not just give, but give generously. God has shown his love for us through all of your amazing and wonderful support. The calls, the texts, the food, the house cleaning, the donations, the prayers, the hugs…we feel it. Thank you, to everyone who has reached out to us.

3. My husband continues to impress me and I am falling even more in love with him.

The way he has endured his pain. The way he continues to work. They positive attitude he maintains. How honest he is with me about what he is going through spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. The amount of compassion he has developed for others with cancer or who have other health conditions that need medicine. I’m in awe of this man. And I’m honored to be his wife.

4. To show more grace toward my husband.

In the end–no matter what he has done or hasn’t done to irritate me, he is My Love. And I would be devastated if I lost him. When faced with the reality that without medicine, my husband would die from this cancer inside him, nothing he does or doesn’t do is worth fighting over, or pouting over, or holding bitterness against him. I love him. I’ll take him. Flaws and all. I hope he feels the same way about me.

5. There are things you shouldn’t tell people who have just told you they have been diagnosed with Cancer.

I don’t think I would have known these words until I’ve been on the receiving end (next to my husband, of course). We know people mean well. But man, some of us just don’t think. I hope I’ve never said some of the thoughtless things others have said to us. When it’s all said and done, I’ll make a funny post about it. 🙂

6. I’m stronger than I thought I was.

I can only guess this strength comes from God because I don’t know this new, strong version of myself. I’m a crier. I used to cry at least once every day about something. But God and my husband have been working on me the last 6 years, teaching me to have self-control, teaching me to trust God and not be so easily overwhelmed or offended. I think its been all in preparation for this. We are going to get through this. I can be strong for my husband. He needs me to be strong.

So what about you? For those of you who have struggled with cancer or who have watched a loved one through the illness, what did you learn? I know we are just at the beginning, especially if Owen does get chemotherapy.

10 Quirky Characteristics About Me That I Embrace

Posted in About Me by
  1. IMG_4825I talk out loud to myself all the time. Even when alone. Yep! I just don’t answer myself. That would make me crazy, I think. This is one good reason for bringing my kids to the grocery story with me. So I can tell myself out loud that I just need to find the coffee filters and the garlic salt before leaving and have no strangers around me wonder if I’m speaking to them. J
  2. I pray out loud to God.It keeps me focused on my prayer and not allow the prayer to drift off into thought.
  3. I mispronounce words all the time.Typically, they are new words I don’t know, so I’m not sure how to pronounce it if it is not phonetically clear. But sometimes it’s common words when I’m speaking, even when I know the correct pronunciation. It just comes out wrong! My husband laughs at me and wonders how I became an English teacher. Ask him how I pronounce Shasta. J Maybe I have a hearing problem? These top three reasons along with the fact that I cannot tell the difference between my husband’s “yeahs” and “nos” and have certain friends I just can’t understand over the phone makes me wonder….hmmmm.
  4. I am crooked. I have a crooked toe, a crooked smile, crooked eyes and eye brows, a crooked back, and even a crooked tongue. Hence the nickname—Crookyt –which I have used as a social media title for many years. I suppose I don’t embrace the crookedness of my facial features thought. Its why I wear my hair to one side and side bangs….to cover up the squished up side of my face!
  5. I have a song for each of my kids that I made up when they were babies.

Kanan—My name is Kanan, I like my milk on tap. Don’t give me no bottle I don’t drink that crap. Choo-Choo trains and race cars are what I like to play. But if you give me bottle I will say no way!

Jameson—who’s that baby with the dark blue eyes, chubby cheeks and chunky thighs? His name is JJ and he likes to stand. Sucks every finger on his right hand. Cute bottom lip, itty bitty toes, fuzzy little head and a button nose!

Benjamin—My name is Benjamin and I like Piñatas. My Momma, she makes um really good enchiladas. I like to poop and I like to play. But when it comes to talking, I will have it my way. Like Burger King, I am delish, just ask my Momma, you will get your wish!

Scotland—Scotty Scotty Scotland, lives on Maryland, has three brothers who do what she tells them too. She’s a little cutie pie. She’s a little sweetie pie. But take her Momma and she will surely surely cry!

And…(yep, she has two)

             My name is Scotland, I’m really pretty. My Mommy loves me in a Foofy Diddy. Or without one. It doesn’t                        matter. Cuz I’m sweet and special in every way….

  1. I talk with a strange voice to be silly with my kids.I do it by moving my tongue in such a way as to block the back of my throat. Then I push the air up from my mouth back up my nose as I speak. It sounds like a duck kind of.
  2. I speak for all my babies before they can speak for themselves.They all have a voice similar to Cartman from South Park and are extremely bossy.
  3. I’m a storyteller. When telling stories with my sister, I can go off into strange hypothetical scenarios that make us laugh so hard, we cry.
  4. Red grapes give me fun, exciting butterflies in my stomach. I often eat them around 1 o’clock in the afternoon for a pick-me-up. It helps me endure my 5th period class, who can drive me bonkers sometimes.
  5. I have a Wild Imagination.

    I often imagine ways to break taboos. For example, I’ll be teaching my class one moment and then realize….I could jump on top of that table right now and do the running man. I could. I won’t but I could.

Thanks To All My Readers!

Posted in Children's books by

child gives up on praying for his grandpaThank you, Thank you !

My 5-day free book promotion for How to Love Like Jesus: a Guide for Children and Their Parents was a wonderful success, thank you to so many readers who downloaded the kindle edition. This time, over 800 people downloaded a copy of the children’s book. I surely hope everyone enjoys the character building virtues and values that the book teaches, and enjoys the humorous illustrations as well.

You can read the book from beginning to end in one sitting, or read it section by section over the course of a few days. The book works great either way, and really depends on the needs of your kids and their attention span.

Theresa Hemsath, author of How to Love Like Jesus: A Guide for Children and Their Parents gets over 800 downloads from Kindle Promotion

One of the awesome perks about the book is that it entertains and relates to kids from toddler-age through elementary school. My 2 and 3 year old sons enjoy it just as much as my 8 year old. The words are simple enough for an 8 year old to read, but of course can be read to younger kids by an adult or older sibling. It is now back on Amazon for $3.99 for Kindle or $9.99 for paperback. I invite you to check out the book and if you buy it to please review!

Pasta-Free Casserole Dishes– A Busy, Health Conscious Mom’s Best Friend

Posted in Health, Recipes by

Cauliflower is my new best friend in the kitchen says the entrepreneurial wifeAs a working mom and wife, I am constantly working on improving my 5 o’clock scramble to make dinner, while maintaining healthy meals for my family. After I finally started enjoying the benefits of casseroles, single-pan dinners, freezer meals, and crock-pots, I then this year decided to cut out refined grain from our diet. That threw everything for a loop! Part of what makes single-pan meals and casseroles so quick and hearty is that pasta is mixed in to bulk it up, right?

But between my husband’s more noticeable wheat allergy and my growing wheat intolerance (tummy aches, fatigue, depression), this is something, I’d have to master, and make it good so that my family didn’t backlash. Not to mention–I’d like to lose those last 10-pounds from my recent pregnancy!

Then I discovered my two now favorite Pasta-replacements that are now staples in my kitchen for my casseroles: Cauliflower and Spaghetti Squash.

I use spaghetti squash in great mealsI’ve tweaked three favorite dishes of mine to now include cauliflower or spaghetti squash and taste AS EQUALLY delicious so that my hubby and kids love it! 🙂

1. Pasta-less Beef Stroganoff— my husband’s childhood favorite dish. He doesn’t even miss the pasta and neither of us get that bloated or tired feeling after eating a big bowl. And better yet, on those real busy nights, if I don’t have time to whip up a side-salad, I don’t have to feel guilty because the dish is already filled with cauliflower, mushrooms, and onions. 🙂 Any veggie side-dish is just an added bonus. I’ve this meal up to another blog, where I give a detailed recipe of how I make it so that cauliflower base works well.

2. Alfredo Chicken Pasta-less Casserole with Mushrooms and Broccoli–-As you can see, we are big mushroom fans. Our kids are not, but they are allowed to pick them out, or I try and pick them out before I give them their dish so they don’t waste them. We don’t mind: more for us. Sometimes, I’ll still add garlic bread on the side for my kids so they can enjoy the delicious combination, but because they didn’t already have loads of pasta to go with it, I don’t have to worry about all that sugar in their blood from the simple carbs of the pasta. Salad is also a great addition to this dish, but on super busy nights, no longer necessary.

3. Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole–If you like chili, you will definitely love this dish. It is one of my absolute favorites and super easy to make if you are willing to use a microwave to cook the spaghetti squash. If you’d rather use the oven, it will take more prep time, but can still be easy on those busy nights if you cook the spaghetti squash the night before. Best yet, it is PACKED with all sorts of veggies!

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Posted in Recipes by

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole is Healthy and DeliciousI am a HUGE Mexican food fan.  But I also know that all that rice and corn and wheat can go straight to my belly, and I don’t mean just for digestion. I’m trying to lose my pregnancy weight and so eating less fattening carbs and more vegetables has been a big part of my goals this year. I’m doing well too! I’m only 2 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.

But no matter how much I still care about my middle, I still enjoy a good Mexican or Mexican inspired dish, especially if I can figure out how to make it healthy.

On night when I had to dig through my cupboards to figure out a meal to make, I accidentally created what we now eat as a family staple in my house. I dubbed it Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole. It is soooooo good. And it is healthy. Yay!

What You Will Need:

  • A large casserole dish (or you can cook it right in the spaghetti squash shell)
  • 1.5 -2 lbs of ground beef
  • 1-2 bags of frozen “fiesta style” veggies (corn, black beans, bell peppers, onions)
  • Can of red beans
  • 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
  • small jar of red enchilada sauce
  • 4 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
  • a container of sour cream
  • taco seasoning
  • ground cumin
  • 1 large spaghetti squash

Directions:

  1. Cook the Spaghetti Squash in the oven or the microwave, depending on how much time you have.
  2. In a large pan, brown the beef with some onions and add taco seasoning and cumin.
  3. Add 1-2 bags of the frozen “fiesta mix” to the meat mixture.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and the canned red beans to the meat mixture.
  5. Pull out the spaghetti squash “noodles” from the large shell and into the pan.
  6. Toss the spaghetti squash noodles with the meat mixture.
  7. Pour into casserole dish or spaghetti squash shells
  8. top with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
  9. serve warm on plate with a dollop of sour cream , some avocado slices, and some cilantro sprigs.

Like this recipe? Read more from Theresa at her new blog http://mamaguts.com

Pasta-less Ground Beef Stroganoff

Posted in Health, Recipes by

My husband grew up on Beef Stroganoff and trained me in how to make his tried and true recipe. By no means is this recipe the healthiest of choices, but it certainly is delicious. Yet after the new year, my husband and I both made some health goals that would require eliminating wheat from our diet. There are a number of reasons that I really should blog about, but in a nutshell– he is allergic to it, I’m intolerant to it, and it would probably help us lose that extra butter roll around our middle sections. 🙂

beef stroganoff tastes amazing with cauliflower instead of pasta says the entrepreneurial wifeStill–we refuse to be unhappy with our cooking and we want to still maintain some of those “soul-food” recipes that we find comfort in. And as a working mom, I have come to appreciate making this meal for my family because it is fast and hearty. When I come home from a long day at work and have to make dinner, I’m not interested in spending more than 30 minutes or so in that kitchen.

So I started researching what the Paleo people out there are eating for some inspiration. I had heard about Cauliflower rice but have never tried it. So I started messing around with it and have now fallen absolutely in love! Best yet, my husband loves it as well because he can still eat his family favorite meal– Beef Stroganoff and not get completely congested, plus can feel good knowing he got a big serving of veggies to go along with it.

This meal is great for busy moms because you can make it ahead of time and freeze it. Freezer meals are life-savers for busy moms. Even if you don’t freeze it, it makes an easy and relatively healthy one pan meal. For those of you who are very anti-processed food, you will want to tweak this recipe so it doesn’t include the canned soup or dry soup mix. I myself try to stay away from processed food most of the time, but given this is my husband’s favorite recipe from growing up, I stick to it. We feel that if it not a daily element of the diet, then we don’t feel too guilty about it.

Ingredients Needed:

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped rice style or sliced into small florets
  • 2 lbs of ground beef
  • 2 cups of chopped mushrooms
  • half a yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 packet of onion soup mix (otherwise make your own with beef broth base, salt, and onion powder)
  • 1 family-sized can of cream of mushroom soup (or make your own with  chicken broth, mushrooms, milk, flour, and some garlic salt)
  • 2 tablespoons of real butter, olive oil, or avocado oil.

Directions:

  1. I chop up my cauliflower first in my blender on low while I’m browning the ground beef and onions in a large frying pan or wok.
  2. Then I cook the cauliflower in a big pan either butter or oil like olive or avocado along with the mushrooms. I cook it until the cauliflower is soft but not mushy (takes about 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the pan. The mushrooms turn out great this way as well–nice and soft.
  3. I then pour in the onion soup mix and the cream of mushroom soup into the ground beef and onions and stir until the soup mix is blended evenly into the meat and creamed soup.
  4. Transfer the cauliflower and mushrooms into the wok with the beef and sauce.

Mix and serve nice and hot. (Better yet–serve with a nice green salad).

I also make a great Chicken Alfredo with cauliflower instead of pasta. What are some of your tweaks on pasta dishes so that they are pasta-free? Any great and easy casserole recipes you could share with me to help my 5 o’clock scramble? Please share in the comments below and share this post with some of your busy friends who could use a break without the pasta. 🙂

Like this recipe? Read more from Theresa at her new blog http://mamaguts.com

 

Pasta-less Chicken Alfredo with Cauliflower

Posted in Recipes by

Using Cauliflower Rice instead of Pasta is a Delicious and Healthy ChoiceOne of my most favorite Italian dishes is Chicken Alfredo. Every time I go to an Italian restaurant, it is one of the dishes I consider ordering. My favorite way to have is it with penne, mushrooms, and add broccoli to the mix too. Add a yummy salad and some bread sticks and I am in heaven. But between the dairy and the wheat, I’m left feeling pretty tired and bloated an hour or so afterward. So I’d limit my Chicken Alfredo treat to once a month. Once a month, I’d endure the discomfort to allow my taste buds the pleasure of biting into that tender chicken and cheesy creamy sauce over my favorite pasta.

Then 2015 rolled around and my hubby and I were feeling very motivated to make those necessary dietary changes in our lives. We wanted to lose weight; we wanted more energy; and we wanted to be free of allergies and intolerance. So we decided to go wheat free. We try to lean toward paleo for the most part which makes it easy, but we are not hardcore. We will still do potatoes from time to time and still enjoy some rice here and there as well or some quinoa crackers.

mushrooms are absolutely necessary for any delicious meal. Especially Chicken Alfredo. But one of the big paleo trends is to use cauliflower instead of pasta in certain dishes. When I heard of this, I decided to experiment a bit with my beloved Chicken Alfredo. What I created ended up being AMAZING. And I can honestly tell you that this pasta-loving gal does not even miss pasta in this dish anymore. I didn’t eliminate the dairy, but getting rid of the wheat made it so much easier on my belly, both inside and out. 😉

For a quick but delicious recipe, just buy pre-made Alfredo sauce. Otherwise use your favorite Alfredo sauce recipe instead.

Ingredients Needed:
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 lb of chicken breast tenderloin
  • 10-15 whole white or crimini mushrooms
  • 10-15 broccoli florets
  • Alfredo Sauce (1 jar or 1.5 cups)
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • spray olive oil
  • some garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup of Parmesan or Romano cheese
chicken alfredo is guilt free when served over cauliflower instead of pastaDirections:
  1. Bake or pan fry the chicken ahead of time in olive oil or avocado oil and some garlic salt and chop up into bite sized pieces.
  2. Wash and chop up the cauliflower into rice (I chop mine up real quick in my vitamix blender on low)
  3. Slice or dice your mushrooms
  4. Begin steaming the broccoli florets.
  5. While broccoli is steaming, Melt butter in a pan and saute the cauliflower and mushrooms together until both are soft and moist.
  6. Make or warm up the alfredo sauce.
  7. Pour sauce over cauliflower and mushroom mixture and then add in the steamed broccoli and chicken. Stir.
  8. Serve hot and sprinkle with parmesan or romano cheese.

Even better if served with a side salad.

Like this recipe? Read more from Theresa at her new blog http://mamaguts.com

Want more ideas for gluten free cooking? Check out these gluten free cookbooks! 🙂

5 Day Free Book Promotion On Children’s Book–How To Love Like Jesus

Posted in Children's books, parenting by
download your free copy of How To Love Like Jesus, here.

Click this Image for Your Free Download!

Book Promotion on How To Love Like Jesus: A Guide For Children and Their Parents runs from Monday, May 11th- Friday, May 15th.

Everyone knows that children, God-bless them, struggle with that me-first, center of the universe attitude. And it is our job as adults to help train them out of that mindset so they can be responsible adults who people like and want to be around. While we all struggle with being unloving from time-to-time, children need daily training. And just like us, they each will have their own personal areas of weakness.

  • impatience

  • unkindness

  • rudeness

  • boastfulness

  • delighting in mischief and wrongdoing

  • demands his/her own way

  • hopelessness/faithlessness

  • gives up easily/without grace

  • holds grudges/unforgiving

All of these, the bible says are symptoms of an unloving heart. It’s very normal, very common. It is something we all struggle with in one way or another. But with some great explanations, helpful advice, and funny but relatable scenarios, How To Love Like Jesus works on helping your child come to recognize some of this unloving behavior as unloving and inspires them to being more loving, like Jesus. Instead, they can seek to become the following:

  • patient

  • kind

  • polite

  • boastful in Jesus or others

  • delighting in truth and goodness

  • Selfless

  • hopeful/faithful

  • doesn’t give up/shows grace toward others

  • forgiving

This is a great book for parents, teachers, babysitters, aunts and uncles, and grandparents to have on hand for those little ones when they come around. Not only does it teach them, but they will actually enjoy it. My kids love the book and so many others who have purchased the book have shared the same. This week only, I’m giving the kindle version of the book away for FREE. I just want it out there so people have the resource and can spread the news to their friends and family. If you like the kindle version, I do encourage you to come back to buy the paperback copy. For some reason, kids still love to get their hands on real books these days. And the best part about paperback is that they can open it anytime, without needing to ask if they can hold the kindle reader or other device you have.

Click Here to Download your free kindle version now.

Click Here to Download Now!

But there are many technology savvy families out there and getting the free kindle version is a great way to try out the book to see if you’d be happy after buying it. So check out this affiliate link below. It will take you to Amazon where you can download it this week for free. If you don’t have a kindle reader, don’t worry– you can still download the book. Here is a link to download a kindle reader app for your iPhone, other smartphone, or even your PC!: Free Apps to Read Kindles on Your Other Devices Here!
Please, leave a review on Amazon for me. I’d love to know what you appreciate about the book, and what you’d like to see more/less of. I’m using this info for the 2nd edition as well as for my next few books coming out in the future.

Waiting for an Official Diagnosis for My Husband

Posted in #LifeWins, personal stuff by

Owen Hemsath may have cancerMany of my friends and family know that we have been going through a roller coaster ride of stress the last few months when it has come to my husband’s health. Over the last 2 months, he has had almost daily bouts of the following symptoms:

  • Chest Pains
  • Difficulty Breathing
  • Fast Heart Rate
  • Fevers
  • Chills
  • Night Sweats
  • Nausea
  • Weak Stomach
  • Light-Headedness
  • Foggy Thinking
  • Fatigue
  • Poor ability to taste
  • Weight Loss

We went to Urgent Care a few weeks ago and they noticed a fever and took an X-ray to look at his lungs, only to find something funky looking around his heart. So we were sent to the ER.

The ER doctors gave him an EKG, which turned out abnormal. Then did a series of tests to see if he was having heart problems. The blood tests came back fine. We were sent home.

Then the next day, they called us and said, “We never saw that you had an X-ray of your chest. Your heart does look strange. Please see a cardiologist.”

Due to insurance issues and paperwork, we didn’t get a chance to even see his primary physician until it was a week and half after the ER visit. During that week, his stomach was really bothering him, so he mainly explained those symptoms, but did explain that the week prior it was his chest. He did not mention his fevers because he didn’t make the connection. The doctor then diagnosed him with acid reflux and said that he’d schedule him with a CT-scan the following week to just rule out the heart and lung issue, but he was not concerned. He wanted to see how Owen felt after being on Zantac a few days.

Well the Zantac wasn’t working. In fact, Owen’s symptoms persisted and even got worse. Now his chest pains were back again in addition to his stomach. After another night of drenching night sweats and watching him writhe in pain on the couch with another spiked fever, I called the doctor and desperately asked for advice. He said to go to the ER and get a CT-scan of his chest, stat.

And so we did.

X-Rays can identify initially if a lymphoma Mass is in your chestThe ER doctors were concerned. The CT scan showed a 10 centimeter sized mass near his heart and what looked like increased fluid around the sac of his heart from what they saw in the X-ray. They sent Owen upstairs to stay the weekend and get an ultrasound and biopsy on the mass. They also gave him numerous blood tests to see if he had some sort of infection.

We prayed. Everyone prayed. Facebook prayer chains were flowing quickly.

The next morning he got the ultrasound. That was Sunday. Then finally, on Monday, he got his biopsy. That same day, and Oncologist came to Owen’s room, and said with a matter-of-fact tone, “You have lymphoma. We are going to kill it. And then you will live a long, healthy life.”

Owen looked up the disease. Textbook. All his symptoms. All textbook lymphoma. Then add the CT scan to find the mass in his chest. It seemed certain. He had lymphoma.

Hearing this news, gave us both a very strange emotion. Given that it was a highly curable cancer, we felt sort of relieved. They had an answer to his pain and suffering. And not only was the answer something that wouldn’t kill him if treated, it would actually stop his misery. Yes, it is devastating to hear you have cancer. But when it is a curable cancer, it is almost better than not knowing what is wrong with you, writhing in pain, and wondering if you will suffer this way your whole life.

So that was this Monday. Since then all the blood tests show no infection, otherwise. So it makes absolute sense. There’s no other explanation.

It is now Thursday night as I write this.

This week, we have been processing cancer. And we have been waiting on the official results of the biopsy, expecting to learn from it, not that he had it, but whether or not it was Hodgkin’s, the highly curable lymphoma, or Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the still good, but not as highly curable lymphoma.

In the meantime, we have been flooded with love and encouragement from our family, friends, and extended friends on Facebook. I cannot believe how much support we have received. Truly a humbling experience. And since he was admitted into the hospital last Saturday, he has been covered in prayer by not only our family and close friends, but extended friends as well. We’ve heard that Owen’s name has been added to numerous prayer chains all over.

So today, while I was at work, Owen called and said the Oncologist called and wanted him to stop by his office in Temecula to go over the results. It couldn’t have been more perfect of timing because I was in Temecula and not in my classroom. I was able to step out of the meeting I was in and go meet him.

“Oh, you,” The Oncologist said to Owen with overwhelmed eyes and an exasperated voice, when he saw him in the waiting room. “I’ve been going over your case all weekend. Come in, Come in.”

Owen walked in now scared that its way worse than they thought.

“We don’t really know,” he said. “We need to do more tests.”

When I heard these words, I was filled with excitement and relief, and yet, strangely, disappointment. I know that sounds strange, but it goes back to seeing my husband suffering the last 2 months and knowing there is a mass in his chest. I want to know what my husband has, and I want it to be something that is curable.

tumors on the thymus could mean lymphoma or thymomaSo now Owen goes in for a PT-scan. Hopefully as soon as tomorrow. Maybe next Monday. It will see if there is malignancy in the mass outside of the area where the biopsy was taken. This will tell us if there is another type of cancer that is happening, or something benign. And what to do from there. Most likely take a larger biopsy from the area that lights up in the PT scan.

Whatever it is, we know he has been miserable with the symptoms we listed above. He has something in his chest and it is hurting him. This is something no one wants to live with. There are times the pain is so bad, it is debilitating. Whatever it is, I just want it to be cured. I want to see my husband live a long healthy life.

So we wait.

Again.

I hate waiting.

Do you know what I’m praying for now? I’m praying that mass is gone when they do the pet-scan. I’m praying God has cured my husband.

And if he chooses not to, that the doctors can figure out what he has, and help him get better.

Coming Soon: A Phone App to Help Your Marriage

Posted in Marriage by
a wife jumps on her phone for some marriage-building support, so she can be a better wife to her husband.

Wouldn’t a Marriage Building App be Awesome?

What if you could download a phone app that would actually help you be a better wife/spouse? Would you download it? I can’t get too into the details, because I don’t have a patent or copyright on the app yet, but my great friend and fellow blogger at http://themomiwanttobe.com, Nikki Marie have just finished creating the content for a very exciting application that would do just this. As a matter of fact, we created one specifically for husbands and another specifically for wives.

Happy Marriages make happy families and society

We will be working diligently in making sure this app is exactly what you need because we both are strong believers that a strong marriage makes a strong family, and a strong society. We will be putting out a free version when we launch it as we gather reviews and work on making it even better, so please stay posted!

But before we begin hiring the developers and programmers to bring this exciting support to you through your phone, I want to fine tune it. What would you appreciate in a marriage-builder app? What types of books have you read on building strong marriages that you think would be awesome to draw from in a phone application?

Would love your input, so please share!

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