She's Alive!!

Hello you all! This is Stacey,

Beth asked me to update her Xanga page so you (all of her Xanga friends) would know how her surgery went. 

First, let me personally thank you for your prayers.  God blessed us with good results.  

Despite all the poking, prodding, and test Beth had went through, the doctors wouldn't know definitively what they were dealing with until they could get a look at the cyst.  The oncologist was confident just by seeing it he would have a pretty good idea if it was cancer or not.  So, as soon as Beth got into the operating room,  the surgical team took a look what was going on inside.   

After taking a look, the head surgeon sent one of his team members out to tell me what they had found.  The surgical team member was also able to share some pictures they had taken of the cyst to help explain to me what they were going to do (pretty neat stuff).  As you can imagine, I was was greatly relieved just to hear that my sweet heart did not have cancer. 

However, the cyst was quite large and the procedure to remove it and the affected area took the surgical team some time (about 2 1/2 hours).  I finally got to see Beth at about 4:30 PM yesterday, and the hospital released her come home at approximately 8:30 PM.  The hospital would have permitted Beth to stay the night, however, both Beth and I felt she would get better rested at home.

I've included before and after surgery pictures of Beth that she let me take for your viewing pleasure. 

If you ask me, I think she's a pretty tough and brave lady.  In the second picture, she is smiling, and no one had told yet what the results were.  They let me be the first to give her the good news after she was settled in her recovery room.  She was very thankful for the good news.

Love,

Stacey
   

Victory

I'm a huge mess.  I've done a lot of crying and praying.  Seems like an endless cycle the last few days.  I wish I had more faith.  More strength.  More hope.  Just more.

I went to church on Wednesday night and this song touched my heart.  I sobbed through most all of it as the church sang it.

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins;
And won the victory.

CHORUS*

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him,
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing, Of His cleansing power revealing. How He made the lame to walk again And caused the blind to see; And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit," And somehow Jesus came and brought To me the victory.

CHORUS*

I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there
The song of victory.

CHORUS*

I have a Great and Mighty God.  I know in the end he will perform a work in me. . .and then I will know why I needed to go through this. . .valley.

Philippians 1:6   "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
 
I do have a time to report to the hospital for my surgery. . .7:00 a.m.  Monday the 25th.

Please be praying for my family and I.

It Will Be

It Will Be What It Will Be

Not sure where to begin.  I hate asking for things for myself or requesting prayer.  I don't want to be the center of attention.  That's just not me.

 Psalms 34:1   "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."

I requested prayer the other day.  My referral Gynecology Dr. did some blood work on me testing specifically the CA 125 levels in my blood.  Mine are 169.  The normal level for that lab is less than 20.

John 15:5   "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

That test alone is in NO WAY a diagnosis of cancer.  It could still be because of my ovarian cyst, fibroids, endometriosis or where I am during my menstrual cycle.  The only way to know for sure if it's cancer is to remove the cyst and have it biopsied.

Hebrews 4:16   "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

I have however, been referred to a Gynecology Oncologist who specializes in surgeries where you may need a bit more of an expert.  That appointment is Wednesday, February 20th at 10:30 a.m.

Mark 7:37   "And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

I am anxious to say the least.  I've been through many stressful surgeries, facing unknown results, in my life starting at age 15.  This one will be no different.  I am very confident God is in control of my life, I will be able to handle whatever comes my way.

 Matthew 6:34   "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

I'm praying just for removal of the ovary and cyst and a clean biopsy.  I want the rest of my female parts left where they belong, leaving those hormone producing organs there for the rest of my life. You already know, one of my great desires is to have more children. 

Isaiah 41:13   "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.".

So. . . if you will be in prayer for me and my family.  My husband is handling things remarkably well.   He originally said to me, "It will be what it will be.  What can we do about it?"  We've told all the other family except for my Sully.  I'm just not sure how much he will understand about what is going on.  Like I said, I am very anxious, but I know "The Great Physician" and trust him with my whole life.

Joshua 1:9   "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

I will try to keep you updated especially the date and time of my surgery.  Please PRAY!  Leave me verses of encouragement.  It really does help me to read and meditate on God's word.

Psalms 56:3   "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."

Proverbs 3:5-6  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

It's Friday!

(hot-tubbing with some of my peeps!)

(homemade Squirts!)

Outside my window...It's beautiful here.  Things are greening up.  We had a bit of rain this week.  I was looking at the yearly calender on weather.com.  The average temperature for this month is 70 degrees.

I am thankful...I am thankful for God's word.  It's always meaningful.  There is always a scripture that applies to my life, either as encouragement or conviction.

Psalms 139:17-18 
 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

In the kitchen...I need to go grocery shopping.  I think tonight it will be homemade thin crust pizza, one meat and one vegetable.

I've got a freezer meal list going.  I want to take a day next week and stock up the freezer with casseroles and soups.

Bisquick Lasagna Pie
Bisquick Cheeseburger Pie
Bisquick Taco Pie
Quick Baked Pasta
Tereaki Chicken and Rice
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Chili Rellenos Casserole
Cheese Noodles and Turkey Keilbasa
Lemon Chicken
Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Beef Barley Soup
Oven Stew
Chicken Gumbo


I am wearing...  Jeans, socks and a green 3/4 sleeve tee

I am creating...I'm still creating in my mind.  I still have some computer graphics I'd like to complete and use as decorations.  I'm really wanting to get out and start garden boxes and build a chicken house before we loose the soft ground.

I am going...I heard back from my Doctor last Friday.  She has referred me to the Gynecology clinic the Navy Medical Training Center, February 11th.  She said the second ultrasound showed NO change in the cyst.  I'm hoping whoever I see will recommend a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy.  I'm really ready to be back to normal and pain free.

I am praying...I'm praying for the desires of my heart, for my grandchild, for my children, for far away family, for my husband.

I am reading/watching...I've started the series The 39 Clues.  It's juvenile fiction but an action packed series for sure.

The Dead of Night

We are watching several things:

Six Million Dollar Man

Mission Impossible



I am looking forward to...One of these days, I am going to sneak off to the desert for some camping.





From the learning rooms...we've been doing Math drills with multiplication and division.  My student needs the extra practice.

Around the house...Yesterday and today are sick days for my student.  He's running a pretty high fever and says his neck and head hurt.  Last night, at bedtime, he said, "The only things that hurts now is my eyelids."



Smoked Turkey, Noodle and Cheese soup with Kale, Carrots and Celery. . . YUM!

We had a meeting at church last Saturday.  I am now the Sunday church bulletin maker and the person in charge of arranging food for the guest speakers.  It feels good to be helpful!

(this picture I drew will be my bulletin cover and the cover for a salvation tract I'm making)

Would you believe...We celebrated a tenth birthday last Friday.  I didn't get any pictures!!  We had to change plans at the last minute as we had a rainy day.  We had bought tickets for 4 people and planned to spend the day at Legoland.  Due to the rain, we went to the Creation Museum and an Air and Space Museum, we went to Von's and bought a cake and ice cream.  We had pizza dinner and invited some of his friends.  I'm sad I didn't get pictures!

(Missing some teeth!)

A quote for today... "We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught,
but after spending time alone with God,
we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength."
Charles Stanley

One of my favorite things...It's been a couple weeks since I had carne asada nachos.  I'm day dreaming today. . . .

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Nothing special is planned.  I was informed that my husband had duty the next 7 days.  No out of town trips for us.

A peek into my day...