It's almost here....

Well, tomorrow, Tuesday (October 19) is the big day--LOL!  If you don't mind saying a prayer for me around 8:30 am central time, that is when my surgery will be taking place.  Bruce will be calling the church and posting on my facebook page when the surgery is over....so you can get updates there.  He will also call the house and tell my parents/Abigail the lastest so they can field a call from anyone who cannot get it from the church or facebook.  As soon as I am able, I will update here as well. 

I think I have tended to most of the little details...at least the ones I can think of :)  Some very gracious friends have offered to provide meals for 3 different nights...and mom will be cooking another night too (before they return home).  I have stockpiled a few meals in the freezer as well.....that is one benefit of having a little bit of advance notice on a surgery.  With that help, Abigail and Bruce assisting with cooking and household chores and other friends who have offered to help if needed, I know we will get through the recovery without any problems.

But mostly, I am completely overwhelmed by the number of people who have told me that they would be praying.....that is more special than anything. 

Through a special set of circumstances at church yesterday, a friend of mine shared her testimony as a part of the morning service.  She invited some of those instrumental in her care (who were nurses at the hospital employees)  got to be there to hear it.  The Lord used that as an encouragement to me...because one of them will be working tomorrow morning and will get to be my recovery room nurse.  She is a beautiful believer too :)  And, I think God gave me a little 'hug from heaven' in getting to meet her ahead of time and let her know to be looking for me.  And, I learned that upon arrival I can request Sherry....and I will. 

Thanks again for your prayers. 

Looking ahead....ugh...

While I am glad that the pain will be gone (at least once I pass the recovery phase), I am not really looking forward to Oct. 19.  The reason..I am facing surgery  (BOS) .  These are the initials of a really long string of scientific words that basically amount to one thing....I will have both ovaries removed..so in essence, my hysterectomy of 6 years ago will be more or less 'completed.' 

With this surgery, I will face some choices...as I have learned that there are risks with choosing to take hormones and with refusing them as well (due to my age).  If I were 50 or older, it would not be a factor.

So, please pray for wisdom in decision making, the least invasive type of incision, and the quickest/best recovery as well as a clear report from pathology (you know everything removed during surgery  goes there..it does not mean the doctor suspects anything bad).

 If everything goes as planned, I will be able to come home the same day and I will have a few small incisions with only about a one week ban on driving and hopefully not too much longer after that before I feel back to normal. 

Also, please pray that I will remember all the details I need to tend to before surgery and that they will be taken care of easily :)  I am making my list and checking it twice...but somehow it seems to be growing...how does THAT happen??? 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and prayers!!

Birthday Fun..the Slumber Party

 all of the attendees.....M, Mac, S, J, Abigail, A and E.....

Abigail requested banana pudding as her birthday dessert for the party with her friends.  We also had dominos pizza for dinner. 

 This was taken around 8 a.m. on Saturday morning....when they were actually sleeping.  I suspect some of them had only been asleep for a few hours. 

 "Craft Time"...we each made a scrapbook page to go in Abigail's scrapbook.  They got to tell something special about Abigail or something they like about her...or simply how they met her/their first impression of her.  I also took a photo of each girl with Abigail at the party to add to the page.  They left a spot on the page for this as well.  I know this will be very special.

Abigail got many wonderful gifts from her friends, one of which was this shirt. 

What else did we do at the party??  We had a scavenger hunt (in teams).  We decorated pillow cases.  We played Mad Libs (Shrek version).  The girls ate and ate and ate...and talked and giggled.  They also watched a dvd and made up their own games...and just had fun :)

A few snapshots from our eleven year old's big day...

So sweet and pretty too :)

I just love these photos....taken on Abigail's eleventh birthday.