Fabulous Friday ...

It has been a very busy week.  I was able to go back to the office on Monday after my two week post op follow-up with Dr. Kohlmorgen.  I was very thankful for that news.  It is good to be back at the office and in my routine.  I love that I have been able to work from home during this journey and ever so thankful.  Tuesday found me at my three month follow-up with the Endocrinologist, Dr. Cox.  I felt that I got good news there after the thyroid sonogram.  Thankful that I am not having another surgery at this time.  Wednesday found me at The Center for my appointment with my sweet Oncologist,
Dr. Young.  I definitely recommend this beautiful lady to anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  She is awesome, as well as, the entire staff in her office.  Dr. Young had lots of questions and needed answers as to how I was feeling.  At this point things that I am supposed to be aware of are ... any bone pain, any tenderness in my liver area or any new chesty cough or tightening in my heart area. I do not have anything that would cause me concern and I know if I felt any strange twinge I could call The Center and get right in for a check.  I talked to Dr. Young about 'when' is my anniversary date ... this date is important to us breast cancer patients.  She said they use the date that I became cancer free ... that makes SO much sense.  I told her I thought it was the date you were diagnosed ... and like she said ... why would you want to celebrate the day you were diagnosed as an anniversary?  So with that information my new anniversary date is October 18 ... the date of my bilateral mastectomy and the day that I became cancer free.  I will not see Dr. Young again until October 10 which is close enough to my anniversary date that all my future appointments will be scheduled around that date.  At this point, she will not do another PET scan ... if I have issues, she would.  Praise the Lord ... no PET scan needed as I do not plan on having any issues.

I have noticed a swelling in the pod of tissue under my left arm below my scar.  I'm pretty sure it has to do with accumulation of lymph node fluid.  Since my surgery, I have not done the drainage procedures for that area due to where my little incision is on my left side.  This morning I was able to begin again.  Before my surgery, the pod of tissue had almost gone away due to my consistent draining the area.  Please pray I can get this area cleared out again and nothing comes of the swelling.

As I reported on Wednesday evening ... I received an answer to one of the unspoken prayers I had ask for.  Thank you all for praying and please thank our awesome God who answered our prayer.  Remember to keep praying ... there are others in that unspoken prayer requests that are dealing with their own issues.  They need our prayers.  Again, thank you for your love and prayers.

Update on my grand babies - Madelyn, my oldest grand daughter, is getting very verbal.  She is repeating what she hears (watch what you say).  She retrieves a diaper from her room if you tell her to go to her room and get one.  She knows when she is 'shooey'.  She loves to talk (hmmmm wonder where she got that from).  She's her Mommy made over.  My sweet grandson, Braxton, is getting more verbal.  He has been here the last two afternoons when I got home from work.  He gets excited to see his Grammy.  He loves to come over and show me things.  He's a busy little bee who loves to discover what is in the bottom of the toy bucket.  He empties everything out like he is looking for something.  He's a thinker and loves to try to figure out how things work.  My newest little grand daughter, Brooklyn, is growing so fast.  She eats really well and is filling out well.  She has now been on soy formula for the last two weeks which has helped with the persistent crying after her bottle (lactose intolerate like her Mommy and Aunt Alicia were).  She takes baby gas drops and started a reflux med this week which Bonnie says has seemed to helped also.  She looks just like her Mommy.  I will try to get some new pictures over the weekend.

Are there any women out there attending the 2012 Women of Faith in Dallas September 21-22 at the American Airline Center?  My sister and her friends have gone for years and I plan to join them this year.  http://www.womenoffaith.com/events/dallas/  I'm so looking forward to the event.

Gotta get for now.  In the mornings when I sit to write it seems the time just flies.  I leave my house at 5:30am to head to the office ... traffic is a lot less at that time of the morning ... and when I get off at 3:30pm, the traffic is much less for me than those who work until 5:00pm.  Every where I look ... I am blessed.

"Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." Psalm 2:12. NKJV.


Blessed and praying blessings for you today.  


gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Answered Prayer ...

I will never stop praising my precious Lord for answered prayer.  Thank you all for praying for my unspoken prayer requests.  I am blessed to report at 7:00pm last night one of my prayers was answered.  I lifted my hands with tears streaming down my face and I praised God and thanked Him all evening.  Thank you prayer warriors for lifting my requests up to our ever loving Lord and I ask that right now you stop and Praise Him for this answered prayer.

Isaiah 43:2

² When you pass through the waters, 
    I will be with you; 
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, 
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

Please continue to pray for the unspoken prayer requests.  Last nights answered prayer was just one of many that I was requesting prayer.  There are several more and these folks need our prayers.  Again, thank you ... I praise God for you.

I will update tonight or tomorrow about my appointment with Dr. Young, my precious Oncologist, yesterday.

So very blessed and praying blessings for you today.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com

When Troubled Waters Rush In ...

Jarrod verse -
Psalm 27:14 -- Wait for the Lord;  Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

When troubled waters come rushing at you, how do you handle it?  Do you cuss, scream, run, or turn to alcohol, drugs or other harmful things to your body?  Well don't ... don't become a person that no one knows ... turn to God.  He is watching your heart break and He wants you to look up and cry out to Him.  He wants you to grab His hand and find comfort and know that He has your very best interest at heart.  

I have several people in my life right now who are walking through the rushing troubled waters and they need our prayers.  I am not at liberty to divulge any information but as I have said before, God knows the issues and He wants to hear from all of us.  Pray for these unspoken prayer requests ... lift these folks up to our Awesome God.  Even if you are not going through troubled waters, He still wants to hear from you.  It's like I tell people when I get the opportunity to talk about my journey ... I would not be where I am today without my awesome Lord.  He brought me through the troubled waters and if you have read my blog, it seemed the flood gates opened all the time.

Here's a link to the song ... Word of God Speak by Mercy Me ... please click and listen.  The link is safe ... find comfort in the words of this song ... I have two browsers open and listening to the song/words right now.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTY-UKgLlXs   God is here for us ... all we have to do is listen ... He will speak.    Thank you dear family, friends and readers for you prayers for the dear people in my life who are walking through the troubled waters.

God opened another door for me to share my breast cancer journey yesterday when I was at the Post Office.  I was standing in line waiting my turn with a postal worker and the lady behind me said to me ... I love your hair.  Only someone who knows what it is like to lose your hair can know how this makes someone in my shoes feel.  I love it when someone tells me this.  This sweet lady (and how I wish I had gotten her name) was also going through a cancer journey.  She was in remission from a rare blood cancer that primarily attacks men.  I shared my blog site and sweet lady I do hope I hear from you.  You blessed me more than you know, you opened the door for further conversation there in the Post Office.  AND ever last or least ... I got to share my awesome Lord ... there in the middle of the North Richland Hills Post Office.  And Renita, sweet postal worker who shared your Grandmother's story ... you blessed me too.

Update from the thyroid sonogram ... My thyroid is 5 to 6 times larger than a normal thyroid.  GREAT!  <smile>  This means my thyroid is so big that one side of it would not fit on the sonogram screen.  She had to take two separate pictures for just one side of it.  She said it was so large that the bottom of it was under my collar bone.  I am not having any issues ... like problems swallowing or sleep apnea ... so Dr. Cox said she did not see anything suspicious on the sonogram (by the way, it's great having a sonogram and immediately getting the results and not having to wait ... Praise the Lord).  We talked about the options of having it out and she will continue watching it.  I go back for a follow-up in a year.  Praise the Lord that the nodule on the bridge of my thyroid had not grown.

I know I said I would share a funny story but it's already 4:45am and I need to get ready for work.  I promise I will share ... just not today.

Please lift my unspoken prayer requests up to the Lord this very minute ... as you read this ... stop and praise God and ask Him to be with these folks.  I know they will appreciate it and I certainly take my hat off and thank you.

Today I leave my hurting friends/family with my precious Jarrod's verses from Psalm 27:5-9.

Psalm 27:5-9

⁵ For in the day of trouble 
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted 
    above the enemies who surround me; 
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; 
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me. 
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face! ”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger; 
    you have been my helper. 
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.

Seek His face today ... know that He loves you and He is with you no matter what your situation is right now.  Thank you awesome Father.  I lift my hands in praise to You.

Blessed and praying blessings for you today.
gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Terrific Tuesday ...

Quick post ...

Dr. Kohlmorgen released me yesterday to go back to work in the office.  So thankful.  I got there at 12:30pm yesterday and it was so good to be back.

I went to the Center to pick up my prescription and ran into a friend whose name escapes me.  He is his wife's caregiver.  Please pray for R. as she continues on her cancer journey.

Funny story coming later ... probably this evening.  More later ...

Blessed Blessed Blessed ... praying blessings for you today.


gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Sometimes They Push You Away ...

Something that has been on my mind for quite some time is ... sometimes a person will push you away when they find out they have cancer or some other dreadful disease.  This happens and I cannot give you any reason or explanation for it, it just happens.  I would tell you ... do NOT take it personal, do NOT allow this to affect a friendship as this is not about you.  I never got angry ... I never ask-Why ME? ... I needed time to process the information before I could begin talking about it.  If you go to the log of my posts ... they began in October ... I got my diagnosis on September 15.  I needed the time to process, pray ... pray ... pray.  I certainly did not sit around and think ... I think I will push so-n-so away ... that was NEVER ever the case.  So please do not take to heart any 'pushings' from a friend or family member who has been diagnosed.  They are not pushing you away ... they are dealing with life and wanting to grab hold and not let it slip away.  I have been pushed away by people and I totally understand their feelings/heart.  It's tough so I want you to pray for these people and hold on to the friendship.  It will come back around.  Personal Experience:  I have a Facebook and I did not want anything posted on my Facebook page about my cancer.  I would delete anything that resembled anything about cancer.  I even deleted my Facebook account several times, each time it seemed I lost friends.  It was not until recently that I was ready to start attaching my blog posts on my Facebook ...  Knowledge is power and I want to reach as many folks as possible to help them possible get through the cancer journey and most importantly share my awesome God.

NOTE:  After I published the blog post this morning, three paragraphs below are highlighted with white.  I have no idea why blog spot does this.  I hope and pray you can still read the post.

Today is my two week post op with Dr. Kohlmorgen.  I am being optimistic that she will let me go back to the office.  I am ready ... this is a very busy time of year for me and Praise the Lord, I feel so much better.  I did not take the Motrin yesterday ... you know me, I have to test the waters to see if I really needed it.  The things that hurt right now have always hurt.  I am still building my body back up from inactivity over the last 10 months ... my ankles, legs, and back aches the most and it's not directly cancer related ... it's from not being as active as I was pre-September 15, 2011.  No complaints from me though ... I am thankful to be able to get out of bed and feel as good as I do.  


My nails ... I am so thankful that I used the ice blocks to hold on to during the chemo drug Taxotere.  As I have explained before, the ice stops the blood flow to your nail beds and you do not lose your nails.  Toenails are a different story.  It appears I am losing all my toenails.  When I was giving myself a 'pedi' (that's what everyone calls it - I call it cutting/filing/painting my toe nails), I see how the new nails are growing up under the old nails however, the old toe nails are not ready to release yet.  It does affect the feeling in my toes too. 


I wanted to share some new 'hair' pics.  Now these pictures below may not show much to you but believe me ... the hair is growing and it is wonderful to have long eyelashes and even a smidge of bangs when I push the hair down.  My hair is filling in across the crown of my head.  It seems to have been the slower growing of the hair and the last to fill in.  And by the way ... it's hard trying to take good these type pictures <smile>.

Hair growing over my ear.  See how dark it is?

Smidge of bangs 

Eyebrows and wonderful eyelashes.  

Praises:
*  Feeling good and moving forward.  Praising God that I am where I am in my journey.  It's been a fast 10 months.
*  Wonderful family and great friends who continue to be such a great support system.
*  Ability to paint my finger and toe nails again.  This may seem small to you but it's a big deal for a cancer patient.
*  Ability to drive myself now.
*  Opportunities to be here for others who are going through the troubled waters of cancer.
*  So so much more to be thankful for ...

Prayer Requests:
*  That you are thankful for your life ... as the poster below says ... Someone somewhere else is fighting to survive.
*  I have many unspoken prayer requests.  When you pray for these requests, just mention Gena's unspoken requests ... He hears, He knows, He cares, He will answer.
*  The heat in Texas.
*  Pray for rain.  You might be in an area that has received some rain ... I am not.  I would love for it to start and rain 3-4 days or however many God allows.
*  A friend of mine, Jeff W. had his high-dollar motorcycle stolen out of his locked garage on Friday. The thieves cut a whole in the garage door, reached in with something and unlocked, and took the bike (crotch-rocket type bike).  He still owes on this bike and his insurance was not enough to replace.

The poster above came from my friend, Sandra Galonska Facebook
 page.  Sandra is the massage therapist at the Center.  She found me on the day of my last round of chemo and gave me a leg and foot massage.
She's a beautiful woman and has a beautiful heart.  

SO blessed and praying blessings for you today.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com

How Great Thou Art ...

The title of this post ... How Great Thou Art ... I could say ... enough said ... but I am way too wordy for that.  As I was laying in bed this morning, the lyrics to this beautiful old hymn came in to my head and I started singing.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Chorus 

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Chorus

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Chorus

Here's a Youtube link with George Beverly Shea singing the beautiful hymn.

I challenge you to watch and listen and raise your hands in praise of our awesome Father God.  Take four minutes out of your busy schedule ... God deserves so much more of us but four minutes is a start.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35FILs1qiVA

HOW VERY GREAT THOU ART --- My Precious Lord.

Prayer Request:

Many unspoken prayer requests this morning... as I always say ... God knows.  Please pray.  

Blessed and praying blessings for you today.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Friday ... Feeling Good and Other Stuff ...

First let me start by saying ... what a difference a week makes ... after you have surgery.  This time last Friday I was laying on a bed at Baylor-All Saints waiting to hear from Dr. Kohlmorgen about the CAT scan they had just done on my pelvic area.  I was in pain and I was miserable.  After a weekend of taking pain meds, Monday rolled around and I felt better.  It is now Friday again and I feel really good ... haven't taken the pain meds for four days only the Motrin which I am wondering if I even need.  Praising God about how much difference pain meds and week makes.

I have three doctor appointments next week.  Monday is my two week post-op follow up with
Dr. Kohlmorgen, Tuesday is the three month check-up/sonogram for my thyroid and Wednesday is blood work/appointment with Dr. Young, Oncologist.  WOW!  I truly went from a yearly check-up to having about 8 or 9 doctors.  I thank God for every single one of my doctors/nurses/technicians ... all of them.  They have helped me get to where I am today ... healthy again.  Thank you Lord.

Speaking of helping me get to where I am today ... you have often read in my blogs about my precious Jarrod who passed away in 2010 from melanoma.  Jarrod was 24 years old and a true man of God.  He was a great guy with good values, a beautiful heart and always had a smile on his face.  Jarrod has visited me over the last 10 months through his Mom, Greta.  Greta began using Jarrod's Bible while going through Bible studies at church.  She has shared with me many scripture verses that Jarrod had marked in his Bible while he was going through the return of the melanoma.  Jarrod has spoken to me so many times when I read the scriptures ... I hear his voice, I see his smiling face and I know he is with me.  I praise God every day that we had Jarrod for the length of time we did ... he touched many many lives.

Above:  Brother and sister dressed up for Halloween.  Alicia
called him 'bro' or 'brother' and he called her 'sister'.  

Above:  Brother and sister at Bonnie's
wedding.  

Today Jarrod's Dad, Bruce, came over and put this beautiful decal on the back window of my Highlander.  I am honored ... Jarrod, I love you and thank you for continuing to speak to me through your Mom who shares scriptures from your Bible.

Above:  See the "J" ... it's a fish hook.  Jarrod loved
to fish.  

I must share with you yet another person in my life who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Remember over the last several weeks that I have requested prayer for my friend, Judy?  Her Mom, Ginger, was diagnosed this week with the same type of cancer as Judy ... invasive lobular carcinoma.  Please pray for Ginger and continue praying for Judy as they are walking their cancer journeys now.

I have done it!  It ... being I have changed my electric service provider from TXU to Reliant.  I spoke to TXU prior to contacting Reliant in hopes they would give me a cheaper energy rate but at their lowest they still could not compare to Reliant.  I know I had to be a real challenge for Brittney at Reliant.  She was so patient and kind and explained things over and over and assured me there were no hidden charges.  AND she was in Houston ... not India ... and I could understand every word she said.  Praise the Lord.  She calculated the amount I would have paid Reliant by using the kWh on my June TXU statement and it came out $40 less than my averaged bill amount.  That would be about $90 less than the actual amount if I were not on average billing.  I prayed during my entire conversation with Brittney as to whether I was supposed to do this and I found peace in changing.  Thank you Sandy for the email and the tip.

God is good ... He is an amazing God.  He never leaves us ... He gets us through the troubled waters safely.  Praise Him ... through the good and the not so good.

Blessed and praying blessings for you.  Have a wonderfully blessed weekend.


gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Thursday Update

A few days ago, my sweet friend, Greta, sent me the following Jarrod verse ...

Psalm 138:8 NIV

“The Lord will fulfill HIS purpose for me; Your Love, O Lord, endures forever –

do not abandon the works of Your hands.”

During this last surgery, I have needed this verse more than I ever knew I would.  I was thinking las evening about how good I was feeling before the hysterectomy.  I was moving and shaking.  I knew that this was major surgery, what I didn't know was how major it was nor did I know how much it would take out of me.  My expectations for myself have been way too high.  I know that if I do not take it easy, I could be in for big trouble.  I haven't done anything of great consequence ... I just needed to realize that this isn't going to heal in two weeks ... like I had planned.  I then remembered it is not about 'my' plans but His.  His plans are much greater than mine.  God continues to teach me patience as well as the fact that He has everything under control.

I am currently shopping for electricity.  I have never changed from TXU because I am on average billing and I can pretty much always know what my electric bill is going to be each month.  Well pooey on that.  TXU is much higher than all the other providers I found yesterday.  I am looking at Reliant .. any Reliant users out there?  They offer 7.9 cents per kWh based on 2000 kWh and a 12 month contract.  There seems to be additional fees but 7.9 is 4.7 cents less than I am currently paying TXU.  I think there is money to be saved here.  If you have electricity shopped ... please email me with your experiences.

Yesterday morning my sister pulled the peppers and the herbs up out of that garden.  The herbs laying on the ground were harboring/offering a breeding place for mosquitoes so I decided to get rid of them. The mosquitoes are bad enough without offering them a breeding ground.  Also, we found a rabbit nest.  A couple weeks ago I was out in the evening watering and when I sprinkled over the herbs, a couple baby cotton tail rabbits ran out.  They were nesting in those herbs ... there was a nest of hair.  I have not seen the rabbits since then.  Below I am sharing what the backyard looks like now with all the plants gone that gave me such joy this spring.

Above:  Taken from the east side of the house.

Above:  The shadow from the huge cottonwood
behind the fence.  It offers some needed shade.

Above:  Hyacinth beans.  I plan to plant
solid next year across the back fence.

Above:  Taken from the west side of the yard.

Above:  Could never forget the ever blooming
zinnias.  

Ephesians 1:3 ... Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Blessed and praying blessings for you today.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Pondering ... Thinking ... Praying ... Praising !!!

I have so much to Praise our awesome Lord for today.  Both my nephews made it back to their home towns after our wonderful visit last week.  Justin drives about 14 hours to get back to Florida and Travis has about a three hour trip back to College Station.  Thank you Lord for their safe travels.

Yesterday my friend, Judy, completed the first of 12 rounds of chemo that she will have to take.  If you recall, I ask for prayer for her several weeks ago.  She originally had a lumpectomy with hopes of just having radiation.  After the pathology reports returned from the lumpectomy, the cancer was more aggressive than originally thought so a full mastectomy was in order.  If memory recalls, the doctors took 27 lymph nodes and 15 of them were affected with the cancer.  Her doctor is aggressively attacking the cancer with the first four rounds of chemo and then will lighten it up after that.  My prayer is that Judy's body can handle the aggressive attack of the chemo and gets through this part of her treatment without incidence.  Judy got a negative report from the PET Scan which means there was no other cancer detected in her body .. Praise the Lord.  Praising God for Judy and her family.

My skin on my face has changed quite a bit during my journey.  I have always had fairly dry skin but it seems my face is now producing a lot of oil which causes clogged pores and almost an acne type skin condition.  For months now I have experienced white head type pumps which is clogged oil ducts (I think).  I have used Mary Kay products for about 12 years and have always used the products for dry skin and it has worked well.  Not sure now if that is the best.  I am doing something that I know I probably shouldn't ... using alcohol as an astrigent ... however, it seems to be drying up the white head bumps some.  Since I am still not going to the office, I am leaving my foundation off and letting my skin have access to air.  I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has gone through cancer treatments as to whether your skin has changed.

Last week at this time (Tuesday) I was in the hospital after my Monday surgery.  I am truly glad that this surgery is behind me and I can continue to heal and move forward.  The surgery was a little more than I ever knew it would be ... duhhhhh what was I thinking?  Obviously I wasn't thinking much.  I had figured I would be back and ready to go to work after a couple weeks ... not sure about that.  Something I didn't figure on was having to put anything but a stretchy fabric across my stomach.  The surgery to remove my ovaries was laparascopic (three small incisions in the abdominal area) and the cervix and uterus was removed vaginally.  My lower abdomen area is sore ... I am realizing that this surgery is a little more than just zip zip zip and you're done.  All the healing takes place on the inside so it takes longer.  God continues working on my patience with the healing process.  Praising God that I am healing and feeling so much better than last week.

A hard part of this journey for me has been having to be dependent on others.  If you know me, you know that I am a get-up and go kind of gal and get things done pretty much on my own.  Currently I am having to ask for help doing the slightest little thing like emptying the trash.  It is hard for me and I feel like people get tired of me asking.  I would encourage you as a care-giver/supporter/friend to understand that we (the survivor) do not like the fact that our 'independence' has been taken away even for a short time while we heal.  We (the survivor) want to have the life of being able to do what we were doing before our diagnosis and surgery, treatment, other surgery but we have been side-lined.  This was not our choice ... we didn't get to chose not to have cancer, it attacked us.  Please be patient as we ask for help or get a little cranky because we cannot do things that we've always done.  We do not like this station in our life any more than anyone else does but currently our ship is docked at this station and we are not able to sail on our own.  I know that I will get back to normal and be able to do for myself soon enough and I keep that vision in my sites.  I lean on my awesome God to get me through these down times and give me patience and strength to endure.  Praising God for His awesome love and the arms He wraps around me when I otherwise feel like a burden.

The tomato plants are gone ... they have been pulled up.  I was amazed that the tomato plants root base was no deeper than about 5-6 inches.  They were very shallow rooted.  I felt kind of sorry for them as they were being pulled up because they came, they grew, they brought wonderful plentiful fruit and now their life is over.  This life cycle reminds me of the saying about people coming into our lives for a reason, season or lifetime ... these plants were only meant to be here for a season.  The plants came and grew, I learned from them (what to do and not to do), they brought an amazing amount of peace and so much joy.  Their season is over now ... I am thankful God allowed me this growing season and all the fruit that they produced.  Praising God that back in March during a cold rainy season, my brother built my raised garden boxes and set them in the ground for me and my sister and daughter, Alicia, helped me get the soil in the boxes and plant the tomato plants.  Remembering about this experience ... it was not easy as I was still going through chemo but it was worth every ounce of energy that went in to the gardens.  Thank you Lord for the experience of my first gardens and prayerfully I will have many more in the future.

Above:  Beautiful flowers I received yesterday from
my sweet friend at work, Bernard.  Thank you so much.
A bright spot in a day of healing.  

Above:  Recently I mentioned the Vermont Teddy
Bear that I received from my long-time friend, Fred.
Isn't she the cutest?  Look on the right side under
her arm ... see the little blue packet?  Those are
wonderful soft caramels.  Yummo!  P. S. I had
to use Tootie as a prop to hold the little bear up.

I am extremely blessed and very thankful to be where I am in my journey.  When I woke this morning, I was thinking about how long I have been on this journey.  As of July 15, my journey will have gone on for 10 months ... that is almost an entire year.  I recall that fateful day ... September 15, 2011 ... when I read the diagnosis on the pathology report that was attached to front of my patient folder as I sat waiting on the doctor.  I see myself sitting there alone in the waiting area ... seeing the word ... carcinoma on the pathology report ... throwing the folder down beside me as if it had a snake in it ... starring into space ... picking the folder back up to read more ... the report read that both breasts had cancer ... my heart beating out of  my chest ... my world spinning ... my cries out to God ... sadness ... fear ... the unknown ... my daughters ... my grandbabies ... my sister ... my brother ... my nieces and nephews ...  LIFE ... LIVING ... so many things that bounces through someone's mind after finding out the diagnosis of cancer (or any other dreadful disease).  It's real ... it's all real ...   I praise God today that He covered my fears, He grabbed my heart and kept it in my chest, He stopped my world from spinning out of control ... He took hold of me and has held on to me and never let me go.  Thank you Father for your enduring love that has brought me  ... Gena Morrison ... this far down my journey of this disease called .... cancer.

Blessed and praying blessings for you today.  God is good ... He never leaves us ... He walks beside us and carries us ... He knows what today holds ... He is my ALL.

One last thing ... Happy Birthday to my precious Mother-in-Law, Clara Morrison.  She turns 94 years old today.  Love love love this woman.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com

Sunday Update

After getting the pain meds all straightened out and combining that with the Motrin, I must say that I have felt much better.  Yesterday was get up, piddle, lay down and rest... repeat.  It was amazing how much better I felt with the pain meds working.  Praising the Lord that all this got straightened out and I was able to be without pain.

My nephews have both been home for a couple days and it's been wonderful getting to have beautiful family time.  Justin left this morning to drive back to Florida.  We are praying that God will provide him a job closer to home so we can be together more often.  Travis will leave to head back to College Station tomorrow after a job interview.  Please pray that God's will be done for Travis and Justin.  I know He has the perfect plan for both of them.

Last night we ventured out to the new Cooper's BBQ on Northside.  I had heard this was a good place to eat and it proved to be so.  Nice relaxed family atmosphere, big place with excellent customer service.  Food was great.  No waiting in line so made it easy for us to eat and head back home.

The clouds are overcasting the skies this morning ... I'm so praying for some rain.  I have been watering my foundation in the back.  If you don't do this, you might start.  I have a friend at work who had a foundation leak last year and it has caused some major problems with his house.  He is about to get it all reconciled after almost completely redoing everything.

My newest little grand daughter, Brooklyn, needs prayers.  She seems to be having tummy issues.  Bonnie is going to check with her pediatrician this week about putting Brooklyn on soy formula.  Both my girls were lactose intolerant when they were first born and took soy formula until they were old enough for milk.  I pray the soy formula will help little Brooklyn's tummy.

Praises:
*  Precious family time.  I love my family so much and spending time with them makes my heart sing.
*  Feeling better after a week of not feeling well.
*  My sweet Mother-in-Law will celebrate her 94th birthday today with her family all around.  Her real birthday is July 3.  Mrs. Morrison will always be my Mother-in-Law ... I love her so much.

Prayer Request:
*  Brooklyn's little tummy issues.
*  Long time friends who just recently lost their Mom needs our prayers.  Mr. Rust was diagnosed with colon cancer last week and underwent surgery to remove a large tumor.  He needs our prayers.
*  Those who have recently been diagnosed with a dreadful disease.

Praising God ... Blessed ... and praying blessings for you today.

gkmorrison12@gmail.com