Keith's check up last week.

On Wed. Nov. 18th Keith had a check up with the radiologist dept. It went very well...:) First of all....Keith has gained all the weight back that he lost during the chemo and radiation treatments. That was very good news.
His hands and feet continue to peel, but that's from the chemo and will stop evenually.
They advised us that he should not have 5FU chemo ever again....
We left the office feeling happy, but also sad that we wouldn't be seeing these kind doctors and nurses again...well, we will but not til another check up some time in May:)
So there you have it.... We just have to keep Keith well til the surgery on Thurs. Dec. 16th.

Early Thanksgiving with the kids

John is really enjoying the deep fried turkey that Papa made! We had an early Thanksgiving because both boys will be at their in-laws on Thurs....out of state. So, Sat. was our time tog.. and it was GREAT. Just having all of us together and being thankful that Keith is doing so well.

Our table was FULL of food... Steve brought his yummy pumpkin cheesecake and Vivien brought a delicious choc. cake. I made a pumpkin pie.

Keith was really into the meal and forgot to take off his apron:) Happy Thankgiving to ALL!!!!

Surgery Date

John is helping Papa get the hot tub area cleared away...:) This was taken back in Aug....

We saw the surgeon at the Reading Hosp. today. Keith will have surgery on Dec. 16th and be in the hospital for one week. Dr. DeVos assured Keith that he'll start to feel himself in a few more days.... all we have to do now is get him STRONG for surgery. On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen for a LARGE Milk Shake:) That trip to the hosp and back played him out...now he's asleep on the recliner...

Distressing News came on Aug. 23rd.

We were getting all our Dr. appointments out of the way since the summer was going by pretty fast. Keith had his annual physical the end of July. As always, the dr. said Keith was perfect...WELL, I already knew that! All he said was - go get a colonoscopy... So, Keith made the appt. and did all that drinking prep stuff....and on Aug. 23rd we went for the test. You can only imagine our shock when they asked me to come back to be with Keith and the doc. came in to tell us he didn't have good news for us. Keith has colorectal cancer. After many tests and scans, the surgeon shared with us that it would be best for Keith to have a round of radiation and chemo before surgery. This would shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove.
On Sept 20th we started the radiation treatments at the Reading Hosp. Arriving at 8 a.m. everyday Monday thru Friday. Most days we were in and out in less than an hour. On Tuesdays we saw the Dr. so that was always a longer day. The 5FU chemo was started on Tues. and was a pump which Keith carried with him 24/7 giving him small amounts of chemo every 10 min.
Long story short.. They had to take Keith off the chemo pump the 3rd week as he developed ulcers in his mouth, lips and other warm parts of his body...After a 2 week break from the 5FU...the oncologist thought we should try 1/2 dose for one week and finish up when the radiation treatments would end. After less than 24 hours Keith started with the blisters on his lips and the ulcers again. They took him off the pump for good. Keith doesn't have the gene that allows his body to metabolize the 5FUchemo. It was like giving him 10 times the amount of chemo. Poor Guy. We finished with the radiation last Thurs. Hooray!
This Wed. after lunch we'll meet with the surgeon, Dr. DeVos at the Reading Hosp. and he will give us the date for Keith's surg.
I will continue to up-date the blog on Keith's progress.... We thank everyone for their prayers...
We are TRUSTING that GOD will take care of us..

Our OUTDOOR Living Area

O.K...I didn't get all these in order, but I'll try and tell the story as I go:) Back in April when we were in TX, we decided to get some estimates on covering the deck....or, we'd lose it due to age. Brian B, from the Berks Career and Tech. was our first choice. Brian only takes a few jobs each summer and we wanted to be one of them. This project was started on Aug. 9th and we were so happy to see this dream come true...

While the porch project was in progress, Keith was working on the fence project from the year before....and John was right there with Papa helping:)

I think they make a GREAT TEAM!!!!

The area to the left of this photo is still a work in progress for next year. It's going to be Keith cooking area..This is where the hot tub used to be....so there was electric and water already in place....HEY MITCH, what else could a chef ask for? Right now this area is on hold....this will give us time to pick out the pavers or whatever we decide ...

I took this shot just before we cleared the deck of everything in preparation for the demo on Monday Aug. 9th.

After the build...Keith started on the walkway in front of the porch...This was a huge project and he did a heck of a job...

After the porch area was screened in, Keith and I realized that we didn't have any electric outside for the water pump feature....so good ol' Brian came to our rescue ....and put the electric post up in 45min... I LOVE BRIAN..:)

This is a shot from inside the dining room looking out on the new living area... The furniture is so comfy and I love the style/shape of the new table.

This is a view from the door coming in from the hot tub side of the porch. Some of you know what a TERRIFIC SPRAY PAINTER Keith is....well, he made the old glass top table and side tables all match the new color. Everything looks like it ALL came new. He even spray painted Michele and Larry's dark green table to match her set on their NEW covered porch... Oh, Michele and Larry also had Brian cover their deck - they were Brain's first job of the summer...We were able to watch their roof go on and got us even more excited about our porch.

And here's the finished job.... I know I know...it doesn't look finished..but we have lots of little touches that have been done since this photo. We are so very happy with the 10 ft high ceiling with 2 fans...and the area which is the same size as the deck was originally...16X22. We spend as much time out on the new porch as possible. So...IF you come by to see us...you best come round to the back of the house...that's where we live!

Happy Halloween - Our Little LION:)

First of all...I know it's been awhile since I've been on the blog....sorry... I'll be doing A LOT OF UP-DATING for the next few weeks...:) Here's Steve, Johnny, and Di - We are so proud of them...we are so Blessed.

John turned 2 the end of June. He is the apple of our eye....

This little Lion was our favorite ....wonder why?

He's not the little baby we took care of the first year of his life.... but he is our angel.