We're home...

We are so glad to be home.  We made good time and I got butterflies in my stomach just thinking about seeing Loren again.  I miss him so much when we are away from each other.  Loren met us at the airport and drove Mandi home.  The children were so glad to see her. She is doing very well, but still having some pain.  It will take her a while to get back up to par physically but her spirits are good and she is happy to be home.  I will stay with her during the day when the kids are at school and have dinner ready when they get home.  Mandi feels that Tristen can help her at night.  I think she just didn't want me to feel like I couldn't go home.  If I feel like I need to stay I will but tonight I am going home.
I am so tired from traveling all I want to do is go home and sleep.  I will post more later.  Love to you all.

At the Lodge...

Mandi is at the lodge with me now.  I brought her back here this afternoon about 2pm.  She is still hurting but it is tolerable.  She will be sent home with Extra Strength Tylenol and Regular Tylenol for pain.

Up and at 'em...

Mandi called this morning so excited... they put her on a regular diet so she now "can have food you actually have to chew"... she cracks me up... LOL!  By the time I arrived she had just about sucked down an entire egg and spinach omelet.  It has been over five days since she has had solid food on her stomach so eating that much so quickly made her feel like she was going to pop her staples.  Needless to say she didn't get hungry again until almost 4:30pm. Ha!  She had just gotten her meal when I had to leave.

Best Progress Yet...

Mandi called me early today on her own.  She said she wanted a shower.  That is great news!  All IV's are out and so is the Foley Catheter.  They have also taken away the self medicating pump.  She is alert and feeling so much better.  She is only asking for Tylenol for pain.  She is slowly walking to the bathroom and still on a clear liquid diet.

More Progress...

Mandi was a little more alert today but still awake with her eyes shut.  Still has bouts of nausea, but her medication is as low as they can get it without taking her clear off of it.  When I got there this morning she was more responsive and would actually carry on a short conversation.

Out of ICU...

ICU called this morning, Mandi was wanting to see her mama.  I think she likes that I look out for her as long as I don't mother her, anyway I hurried and got myself over there.  She was still in ICU not doing much better than yesterday, but she is doing really well.

Progress...

I slept in a little this morning and then when I woke I dove right in to the Word.  After reading for about an hour I prayed and then put Chris Tomlin "See the Morning" CD on my laptop while I showered.  I drank my cup of detox tea and had a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso and then headed to the hospital.

Surgery...

Surgery today was a great success.  Surgery was supposed to start at 8am but they didn't get started until 9am.  They were done by 2pm, a record 5 hours.  Dr. Broslosky (Dr. B, he is from the Ukraine) came out and told me the team was closing her up and that he successfully removed the large tumor and 4 other tumors for a total of 5 tumors.  He said that the kidney pinked right back up and began to function normally right away.  That's the power of our God.

Indescribable...

How can I tell you what I am feeling right now... I know that everything... and I mean everything is in God's Hands.  I know that He loves Mandi more than I ever could.  I know that I trust Him completely to do His Will and work His Plan in her life.  But still I ache in my heart for her.  The tears stream down my face and I feel as if my heart will break. What I feel is indescribable.

Last day on pass...

This was Mandi's last day of freedom.  We spent it in the room watching television all day.  I am so bored I could scream but she still isn't 100% yet from the migraine she had yesterday so I am keeping my mouth shut and trying my best to relax.

Saturday disappointment...

Mandi and I were so looking forward to having the day off today to go shopping for groceries but she woke up this morning feeling sick with a headache and her throat was sore.  I sent out a mass email asking for prayer and tonight she is feeling much better.  Prayer accomplishes much when we all agree together.

What a way to fly...

Never let it be said that I am not grateful for living in the "land of the FREE and home of the brave" but I have to add that as a free woman I object to only being allowed to carry on board only one quart size bag of liquids on board any given airline.

Especially hard to leave home this time...

At Last... I don't know what was going on with Blogger the last couple of days but for some reason I could not leave a new post.  Just wanted to say... this is trip day.  Today is Tristen's 15th birthday... this is the second time his mama has had to be gone for surgery on his birthday.  She really hates that.  I am doing my final blog before I shut off the lap top and pack it for flight.  Mandi and I managed to get out seats together for all but one of the flights out.  We have most of our seats together coming home too but if not most people are happy to trade with us when they find out she has just had major surgery, so not to worried about that... after all we DO have the favor of God and MAN... right?!!!

Coming together...

Loren worked so hard all day on the living room.  We painted it last night with a real warm gold and today he trimmed out the room and windows.  It is really coming together.  He does such wonderful work and is so detailed.  We have decided to carpet that particular room and just keep food out of it.  We will have the den for family time when the kids are all over and that floor will be wood or tile and food will be allowed in there, after all we live here it isn't a museum...LOL!

Highly Motivated...

Today was a great day... but then just about every day is a great day... We got to go to church again, Tami and Rick and Izzi came and Izzi sat in my lap for most of the service.  Praise and Worship was awesome, Loren interacted with the people and got a chuckle or two.  Then he led us into the most awesome worship and helped to really usher us into the presence of God.  Chad preached a great sermon about growing up spiritually, but even more than that.  He preached about what the Holy Spirit has been dealing with me about for several months now... press in more to God, dive into the scripture more so that I can be spiritually mature and fit for God's use.

Shopping with Mandi...

Mandi and I decided earlier in the week to go shopping together for Tristen for his birthday and to celebrate it early with all the family on the 2nd (tomorrow) since we would be flying to Maryland on the 6th which is his actual birthday.  She called yesterday to tell me that Dillard's was having a big sale... everything with a mark down tag on it was an additional 50% off today.  So we decided to meet out at Promenade Mall at the main entrance... however, I took off and forgot my cell phone.  Big mistake when you are meeting someone else.