Mexico and other Adventures!

OH, the blog, the blog the blog. Why do you mock me?  I don’t know why this is so difficult for me to keep up. I love doing it when I’m doing it and I love sharing the things that are going on, I just only think of it when I’m in the bed half asleep! I say to myself, “I’ll do it tomorrow when the girls are at school”, and then morning comes and life distracts. But here I sit in the hospital getting my every three weeks treatment and now is as good a time as any! Lots of time to kill!! So, right, lets get started!

            After my dad left in April and before my trip to Mexico, our niece, Maggie came for a visit for a month!! It was so amazing. We picked her up at the airport and hit the road to Amsterdam! We were so so happy to see her, the girls just ran to her. They were so happy to see one of their cousins. The last cousins they saw were Macy and Hannah Brooke only for one night over Christmas. They hadn’t seen any of their other cousins for a year, so it was good for them to be together again. On the way to Amsterdam, we stopped at Bruges, Belgium. That place was so beautiful. We had mussels and fries and Belgium beer. The atmosphere was perfect. Then we took off to Amsterdam. We had a wonderful house that we rented. We went to the Anne Frank house, the windmills, the Corrie Ten Boom house (which is about a lady that hid Jews during the war and she was caught, survived the concentration camp and toured the world talking about healing and forgiving. Truly the most amazing touring experience I’ve ever been through. She’s written a book a long time ago called “The Hiding Place” and I totally recommend it). One of the most fun things we did was rent bikes and ride them all over the place. We stayed in a place called Haarlem, right outside of Amsterdam and we biked everywhere. It was a great trip with lots of laughs and memories. Maggie got to stay for 3 more weeks after that and I took her to the Royal Ascot and we saw Prince Harry up close and personal! We also saw the Queen and Prince Charles and Camilla. It was so cool. I think the highlight for Maggie was seeing Prince Harry (maybe the highlight of the whole trip).

            Before Maggie got here, I went to Mexico as planned and as I mentioned in my last blog.  As I had said before, just the decision alone really affected my thoughts and had given me peace. Once it came time to go, I was really nervous. I hate being away from Josh and the girls and just the unknown was a little daunting. But, off I went anyway. I stayed in a hotel in San Diego suggested by the clinic (The BioMedical Clinic or “Hoxsey Clinic”). I put my name on the list for needing a shuttle the next morning, got something to eat and went to bed. The next morning, I went downstairs to wait for the shuttle. I was already nervous about what to expect, the airline had lost my luggage, so I was still in the clothes I had flown in the whole day, and I was totally jet lagged. The first person I saw waiting for the shuttle was very very sick looking and his wife was standing there smoking. I thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into? Have I pinned my hopes on something that isn’t what I thought?” Didn’t help my nerves at all. More and more people started coming around and I started to relax as I started talking to people. All ages, all types and stages of cancer were present. We all just kind of jelled into this natural support group. We were all there for the same reason, we all believed in the same thing and we all hoped for the same results. I met a great younger than me girl and we clicked right away. Her name is Kristy and she had breast cancer, but was given the “all clear” by her oncologist, so she as just at Hoxsey to keep it away. We started sharing recipes and websites right away. Loved her. The other couple that I met was a couple from New Mexico and he had early stages of Prostate Cancer. He was in his 70s and his wife was slightly younger, but she had jumped on the health train right away and was totally behind fighting her husband’s cancer naturally. Turns out, Paul was in the Army, a graduate of West Point and served time in the 82^nd Airborne!!! I love it when stuff like that happens. We all still keep in touch now. The people, as you probably would assume I would say, were the best part for me. Loved talking to everyone. I even spent the next day in San Diego with the first person I saw who was smoking waiting for the shuttle!! Ha.

             The experience was very much what I anticipated. Lots of tests and lots of waiting. I met with the doctor for a brief consultation and exam.  He was very nice and kind. He was the one on the website that has been at the clinic the longest, so I really was feeling pretty good at this point. After I met with him and answered all his questions, I was told to go get something to eat (they have an on site diner) and wait in the waiting room for the results and to meet with him again. I went to the diner and it was a very old, no frills restaurant, with a cash register box on a desk by the door for you to pay for your meal by the honor system.  The two women behind the counter were beautiful Mexican women; one was older than the other. I thought to myself, “I’m getting ready to get the best Mexican food I’ve ever had”. I was dead wrong. Everything there was Hoxsey diet approved and totally organic and fresh, not processed and loads of veggies. There was even beetroot juice!! The menu and the food choices just didn’t match up with what I was looking at. It made sense that the food should be like this at the clinic, but it was still a surprise. The food, indeed, was truly amazing. Best lunch I’ve ever had and it was about $5.00 and I was stuffed!!!  Off to the waiting room I went. Lots of talking and sharing stories and recipe swapping. The thing that I appreciated (aside from the awesome lunch) was that we were all treated differently. We all had different test, we all met differently with the doctors, we all had different “prescriptions”. I was just so happy for it to of been individualized that way and I didn’t feel we were all an “Option A” or “Option B” type patients. 

            Went back in to talk with the doc and get all my supplements. He gave me six months of the tonic and two types of capsules to take three times a day. He also gave me a list of other supplements to add to it, but I could order them from home. One of the capsules he gave me was “pacific yew tree needles”.  They grind these things up and they apparently have 8 cancer fighting nutrients in them. I take 9 of those a day. The other one was a mixture of herbs for bone strengthening purposes. It is supposed to make them stronger and also repair any damage that the cancer has done. I take 9 of those a day. I also take 3000 mg of Vitamin C, a liver rescue supplement, a multi-vitamin, something called Artimininsen, calcium, and turmeric. I take about 25 pills a day, not such a big deal. I drink the tonic 4 times a day. The idea behind that is the tonic will detoxify my body of all the crap that has been put in it and the supplements and healthy eating build up my immune systems so it can attack the cancer cells. Most immune systems work in overdrive attacking things that come into the body; cold, virus, etc and it also works to support your liver which is massively trying to evict all the toxins we put in our body and are exposed to everyday. So, my immune system was in crazy overdrive and couldn’t properly fight the cancer. Now, it has a good shot at it. I’m also trying to reduce the acidity in my blood and raise the alkaline levels. Cancer doesn’t like a low acidity body. So, all my choices are made to try and help my immune system.

            I am very happy to report that so far it’s working beautifully. I feel better than I ever have in my whole entire life. I have no pain what so ever. I had a good PET scan in May and I talked my doctor out of ordering me one now. He said that because of the fact that my blood work has leveled out and I have no new symptoms and I’m feeling so good, we could wait until January to have the next one, unless there is a reason to have one sooner. I just hate having them and the stress that they bring.  The most important thing to me, which was something that was causing me a great deal of angst and worry, is that when something does come around that hurts or if I start coughing, I can look at it practically, instead of assuming the worse. If my ribcage starts hurting, I know that I’ve either stretched it too much in yoga or it’s scar tissue from past surgeries and breaks flaring up. Easily remedied. Pain goes away. If I start coughing again, I can logically think, “Okay, all the girls are snotting and sneezing and coughing all over the place, I have had a small head cold, the cough always follows it and it takes a little longer to get gone because of the damage the radiation did on my lungs and the fact that there are a few lingering cancer cells in there. The remedy for that are essential oils in my diffuser and hot baths and rest. Cough gone, back to normal.  When these things happen, I don’t go spiraling into a deep scary worried place. That is something that is life changing for me.

            I still eat well and I haven’t been drinking. That wasn’t as hard for me as I thought. Sometimes I miss red wine like crazy, but to tell you the truth, I miss Chick Fil A more. I wish I could say that the diet change is always easy and it’s truly been an ultimate complete lifestyle change. In some respects, it has because the choice of eating right or “cheating” has been taken from me. It 100% has to be a lifestyle change for me. I see the results of what it’s done. Not only has it given me a 50 lb weight loss (which vanity wins out on now, I actually enjoy being thin), but also I know what it’s doing to my life. Its given life back to me, to Josh and to my girls. That being said, I do have my moments of weakness. I have cheated a bit once or twice. But it’s so small in comparison to how I used to live my life.

            After school was out (which wasn’t until July 21—shortest summer ever!), Josh’s sister, her boyfriend and her children came for about 8 days. We went to Stonehenge, Dorset (a wonderful beach with cliffs and a beautiful part of the English Channel) and to London. It was so much fun to be with them, we hiked and camped and toured and laughed and laughed and laughed. The kids were in hog heaven being with their cousins like that. We all cried and cried when they left.  The very next day, we took off to Venice and met Josh’s mom and step dad and then we set sail on a 7-day cruise around Greece. This was everything we all needed and more. We needed the sun, the sea and to relax. It met our expectation and exceeded them. Greece is so wonderfully beautiful and I was meant to live there! The things we saw and learned about were amazing. It was fun being with Meg and Don; we played games, ate and ate and ate, swam in the ocean and did lots of sightseeing. None of us wanted to leave.  It was magical.

            Once we got back to England and did a little more sight seeing with Meg and Don, they took off back home and we got back into a routine. School started and it’s off to a very successful start. Abbey and Madeline returned to Naunton Park Primary School (4^th grade and 2^nd grade) and they were happy to meet their new teachers and see their friends. They are both running in their cross-country club and also doing an after school Art club, which they both love. Leah started the private school that Genny went to last year called Cheltenham Prep. She is in 6^th grade and she had to make another big change. It was a new school, lots of responsibility and she knew no one. She basically had to start over with the friend-making thing, and she had such wonderful friends from her 5^th grade class in Naunton Park, but everyone scattered for middle school and went different directions. There were some tears the first week (mainly from me) but she eventually adjusted beautifully. Now, she’s confident and making friends and feeling better about the school. She does an art club, runs cross-country, drama club and plays field hockey. She takes Latin and French, chemistry and physics and biology. THIS IS 6^TH GRADE, PEOPLE!!!!!  All I know is that Aycock Middle school wasn’t’ anything close to this for me!! Genny moved over from Cheltenham Prep school to Cheltenham College (which is basically 8^th grade to 12^th grade). She’s in 8^th grade. She’s happy to be back with her friends and playing hockey. But this is no ordinary 8^th grade.  She goes at 8 in the morning and sometimes I don’t pick her up until 8 at night. She does choir and play practice. Hard core stuff. She thrives in it, though. She loves it; all the activity and social part of it all. She works very hard and is very responsible. Not at all like I was at 13. These kids continually amaze me at what they go through and how well they adapt to it all.

            So, basically, all is very well in the Richardson household. I feel normal. I like feeling normal. I feel like a normal mom who does normal things and feels a normal way. I get mad, I get sad, I get scared, I get frustrated. I like feeling all those things. I just FEEL them, Josh feels them, my kids are allowed and encouraged to feel these things. It’s just all very normal and ordinary. I do recognize that we also get to lead an extraordinary life, though. I’m not crazy enough to think that most people get to go to Greece for summer break or Scotland or Ireland or Germany. We are very blessed to do that. But, our everyday life is normal and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

            Often people ask me questions about cancer and things that I do as far as supplements and eating, etc. I promise that I don’t have all the answers, but I have used great websites, lots of reading and general intuition.  The first thing that I read and used to start all this was “Radical Remission” by Phd Kelly Turner. It’s got great information on ways to change the way you think. Nine key factors that have “cured” people of cancer. It started me on the diet change path with great ideas and scientific information.  It’s filled with hopeful stories and great links to get you started. Another website is “Chris Beat Cancer”. He’s a young guy who beat cancer 10+ years ago the natural way with diet and supplements. He comes across as super cocky sometimes, but his website has great interviews with people who have cured their cancer. That gives you other ideas and paths to take based on what you have read and heard. Also, “The Truth about Cancer”.  That is the website I used that lead me to the Hoxsey Clinic. It’s a website with lots of information and also a docu-series where the main guy interviews lots of doctors and people that have alternative ways to treat cancer. Lots of great articles from this website comes around that it truly helpful.  The thing that I find common through all these things is they are filled with hope, hope, and hope. Cancer is a really shitty and scary thing that can happen to you or to a loved one. Any chance you can look for hope in the situation; I strongly encourage you to do so. Bottom line is the first thing you need to do to take care of yourself is change your diet. No refined sugar, soda (any kind) is terrible for you, low meats, and when you do, lots of lean, grass fed ones, no white things (pasta, bread, etc), low diary, and lots and lots and lots of veggies. The more you can get into your body, the better. Exercise and take care of your personal things. I know it sounds super hard-it’s challenging, that’s certainly an understatement-but you can do it. Just one step at a time. So, over the period of a year, I have truly changed my life-for the better, I might add. I know for a fact that if I can do it, ANYONE can do it.

            Thanks for all the prayers and concerns you show to me. I can’t ever express how much that means to me. I appreciate you reading all my blogs. Thanks again for everything. 

New Beginnings

 So much has happened and changed since my last blog, which I believe was in January. Good grief. I should be better at updating them, I really should, I don’t even have an excuse for it.
 
   We have been a revolving door of visitors and it’s been so fun. The first round was my mom and Aunt Patsy. We really did everything there was to do in two weeks, including a trip down to Torquey in Cornwall; the beautful coast of England. We went to Cadbury World and ate delicious chocolate, visited some of the Cotswald Villages and spend the very cold and rainy day in London. We rode the London Eye which is a huge ferris wheel that gives you the view of all of London. Leah and I had to go to our happy place while we were on it because it really was so high. Needless to say, we were all worn out by the end of that visit.

    Next comes Royce and Margherita (Josh’s dad and Stepmom). They were here for 3 weeks. We went to France with them because the girls were off of school for two weeks. We toured the Normandy beach areas. That was so amazing and haunting and chilling. We went to a D-day museam in Portsmouth, England before our ferry ride. We met a 96 year old D-day veteran who was so adorable,  I really wanted him to come home with us, but Josh said no.  Those beaches were so cool to be at and to think of all the history. Then, we were off to Paris. Abbey has done such a big project on France and Paris, so it was great to watch her see all the famous landmarks. We toured massively for 2 days, even when Margherita was sick, she was a good sport. Once we got back to England, we did all the local things, including going to Bath, which we love. That was a fun, busy visit as well.

    Next comes my dad for 3 weeks. Once he got here, he got adjusted to the jet lag and we were off to Scotland! We loaded the car up for a 6 hour drive north. All of our local English friends think we are nuts to drive that far for a weekend, but it’s nothing unusual for us! We toured the Edinburough Castle and went to a shop where all the tartans are made. The next day, we went on a 12 hour bus tour through all the Highlands of Scotland including the Loch Ness. No such luck on seeing “Nessie”, but you are offered something like 1 million Great British Pounds if you see her! Scotland is such an amazinlgy beautiful place full of such rich history, it would be easy to spend much more time there. I toured Daddy around the local Cotswald Villages as well as a trip to London once we got back to England. That was another great visit.

    Next will be my neice Maggie for a little over three weeks, and we are all going to Amsterdam for one of those weeks. That is one of the places I’ve always always wanted to go, so we are really looking forward to that. After she leaves, we are visitor-less for the month of July, then Josh’s sister, Mia and her family come for two weeks in August. We are still in the planning stages of that visit, so not quite sure what we are going to do yet. After they leave, we are all 6 going on a Mediterrean Cruise through the Greek isles. I can hardly wait for that. Meg and Don (Josh’s mom and stepdad) are joining us and then coming back to England with us for a visit. October, my mom will come back and in December, Josh’s sister, Che and her whole family will join us for Christmas break. How lucky are we to have family that wants to travel so far to be with us!!

    I don’t even know how to begin writing about the whole Cancer thing because so much has changed and happened. Here is how I thought it would go for awhile: Once upon a time, I got diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer that spread to my bones, liver, lungs and lymph nodes and then I died. The end. As morbid and blunt as that sounds, that is how I was living pretty much since chemo was over. Everything I did was shrouded in the fact that I had a timeline hanging over my head. 2-5 years. Everytime I laughed with the girls, I hoped that it was something they would remember when I was dead. Everytime a good song came on, I thought that they would remember me when they heard it. I was constantly thinking of my funeral, my proverbial death bed, how and where I was going to die, so on so on, you get the picture. Every morning I woke up filled with anxiety and dread of facing the day and trying so hard to “forget”. Why was I constantly feeling that way? Why couldn’t I get a grip?
     Then, something amazing happened. I went for a treatment (I am still recieiving anti-body treatments every 3 weeks), and my doctor told me that one of my tumor markers went up in my blood work. I totally freaked out. Why was it going up? Was the cancer flaring up again? What did it mean?
         I have been seeing a reflexologist and during one of my appointments, I had a complete and total breakdown. All the panic and anxiety and dread just came out in giant gut wrenching sobs. As painful as it was, it cleared my mind for the way ahead. I knew that if the tumor markers meant that the cancer was spreading again, I couldn’t and wouldn’t do chemo again so soon after finishing up the last 6 rounds. What would I do then, I didn’t know. Josh and I talked so long and had great conversations about options. I knew that I wanted to go for a more “natural” way of getting better. So, we started watching “The Truth about Cancer”. It is a 9 part documentary series about non conventional treatment options for people with cancer. I really do recommend it for anyone going through it or if you know someone who is going through it. It’s a tremendous amount of information, with the angle of “anti-chemo”, so you have to know that going in. BUT, it’s chocked full of wonderful information.
    I stumbled across a treatment options that has changed my life. Really and truly changed it. Needless to say, I wasn’t doing a lot of "L cubing" and it was really bringing me down.  This treatment option is called the “Hoxey Tonic” at the Bio-chemical clinic in Tijuana Mexico. If you want some good reading material, google it, it’s really facinating. Bottom line is that the idea is to detox your body from all the crap you have fed it over your life and then build it back up with immune strenghting herbs and supplements. Also, pair it with a diet that lowers your acidity and raises the alkiline levels in your blood. It basically gives the cancer nothing to feed and thrive on. The success stories from people that were TERMINAL are amazing. They are hope filled. That’s what I needed and that is what I got.
    I started following some of the diet that I had read about, even though I had already started watching what I was eating, but this is a lot stricter. NO ALCOHOL.  That is sad. But, I like to live, so it wasn’t a hard choice. ANYWAY, long story super long, I am traveling to Mexico on May 23rd to meet with these doctors, get a specific amount of supplements and a specific diet and I am going to actually eliminate this cancer from my body.I am not just blowing smoke up your butt by saying it, I truly truly believe it. I will be there for a week, it will be warm and sunny and I will be so happy! So,  a month after my tumor marker number went up, a month after following this strict diet and a month after believing that I am going to live, I had another PET scan. I was nervous for this scan, but not afraid. I realized that before my plan, the medicine and doctors had ALL THE POWER AND CONTROL. I absolutely could not handle that. I needed some control back. So, I made my own plan that I believed in. I knew that no matter what that PET scan showed, good or bad, I was prepared and going forth with my own plan.
  I would not take chemo if my doctor advised it.
  I was going to fight it naturally.
  I wasn’t giving up, on the contrary, I was actually in for the true fight of my life.
    The results came back Wednesday, and they were amazing. It was no change since the amazing one I had in October. No longer in my liver, no longer in my lymph nodes, and massive shrinkage in my skeleton. A few small spots in my lungs, but they haven’t grown or spread or changed in 6 months. It was a great doctors appointment that had me on a massive high. I knew that all my hard work had paid off and I was going to Mexico strong and able. The irony is that despite the whole Stage IV cancer thing, I am feeling the best I have in my entire adult life. I have lost 50 lbs since arriving here in England, I am smaller than I was when I started dating Josh about 18 years ago; so that’s a fun bonus!! I am walking everywhere and swimming and doing yoga and really and truly living, loving and laughing.
  This cancer will be gone,
   it will not control me,
   I will defeat it.
  God really does work in my favor because he lined up things for us in perfect order. Once my epic “mind shift” happened and I started feeling happy again, we finally found out where the Army wants us to live in 2017!
   Josh got selected for battalion command back in March. That would be our next job in the summer of 2017. This is a job we’ve truly been working towards for the past 16 years. It was OUR goal. I wanted it for him and for us. He wanted it for him and for us. We were so happy and proud and honored that the board selected him, because the competition was tough. Some great people got battalion command and some really great people didn’t, so it made the selection even more humbling.
   So, then, we just had to wait for the board to tell us where that battalion command was going to be. We were able to put a “top choice” list. We listed places back in the states that were close to NC because in all honestey, when we were making that list, we were in the midset that I had a “timeline” of life. We wanted to be back home and close to family. So, we just knew it would be one of those places. Well, it wasn’t. The army decided that it wanted Josh to command the 4/319th field artillary unit in Grafenwoehr, GERMANY!!!! What the heck. That’s not America. That’s not what we planned. After a fair bit of crying and cuss words, I came to realize that this may not of been what we wanted first, but the Army choose Josh for this amazing opportunity for a reason. If we said no, we were turning down something that we wanted for ourselves. If I was going to start believing that this cancer was going away, I didn’t neccisarily need to go home to wait to die, I should go on living. Why not Germany? Yes, it would keep us aways from family for another two years, but, it was going to be an amazing job opprotunity and an amazing opprotunity to do more traveling and live this wonderful life. So, we gratefully accepted!! Summer of 2017, we will pack up and move to Germany for 2 years. We will live on an American base, the girls will go to an American school, most of our neighbors will be American, but we will be living in Germany! So, between now and then, I will be learning some key German phrases like, “Where is the bathroom?”, “What is your best German beer?” and “How do I get home from here?”.  There are also so many non-traditional cancer care treatment centers in Germany, so I will have great access to them. That is exciting.
 Thanks for reading this long, rambling saga and thanks for praying for me and thinking of me. I love thinking of all of you. If you have any questions or things to say, I would be glad to answer them or talk to you more about what is happening. I will definately update this a little sooner than I have been, especially after Mexico.
 I will leave you with some sayings and phrases that have really meant so much to me these last few weeks and hope you can find some inspiration in them as well.
 “The pain, it will leave once it has finished teaching you” -Pavana
 “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck”- Dalai Lama
 “We cannot start over. But we can begin now and make a new ending”- Zig Ziglar
 “He said, “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. Once is called yesterday, and teh other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live”-Dalai Lama  (this one is my favorite)

Finally, an update!!!!

It’s been so long since my last blog, I had forgotten how to even log in!! My mom and aunt are always asking me when I am going to update the blog and I always say “soon”. I just really forget or don’t make the time or just really don’t feel like sitting at the computer to type. I wish I could say that it is because we were too busy L cubing everyday, but that wasn’t always the case, but we were sure giving it our best shot!!
 We are getting very adjusted to being in the UK, just celebrated 6 months of being here, that is so hard to believe. What a whirlwind 6 months it has been. The girls have settled in so nicely and have some of the sweetest, kindest friends. Their schools are amazing and they are doing quiet well (that’s a Brittish phrase). They love it and actually look forward to going. This term, Netball has entered our lives. What an interesting sport that is. Sort of like basketball, but no dribbling and no backboard..just a pole and a hoop. It’s also a 7 on 7 sport, so there are a ton of kids on the court. Leah has a netball club that she goes to and occasionally has games, Genny has it as her sport this term and plays games every Wednesday and Saturday, and Abbey plays it in PE. Madeline doesn’t do anything like that yet, but her turn will come next year. Right now she is in an afternoon book club and she loves it. That child loves to read.
  Josh loves his job and is busy, but nothing like we have been used to. His work is very flexible and he was really able to be around during my last week of chemo. He is here every morning for breakfast and every evening for dinner. What a nice change of pace for him..and for us. Right now he is skiing with a bunch of work guys for the upcoming week! They call it “winter training”! I know he’s having a great time so far.
 We have had some amazing adventures in our 6 months of being here, despite the whole cancer setback. We have gone to Bath, to Stonehenge, to London, hosted Thanksgiving here with our British friends (and my sister in law, Che, who was here on Chemo duty during that time), gone on hikes, had proper British tea time, and toured places in the Cotswolds. It has been so cool being able to take the girls (and guests) to these places.
   Our latest adventure was our Christmas trip. As soon as the girls were done with school for Christmas break, we loaded the car with Santa gifts, some decorations and our stockings, luggage, the kids and even the dog and headed on a massive roadtrip.
 1st stop: DOVER, yes, where the white cliffs are. They really are a sight to behold. What a beautiful place. We got there well ahead of schedule and went on a hike to one of the tops of the cliffs. The wonderful thing for all of us was to be near the water like that again and THE SUN WAS SHINING!!! That was a gift in itself, seeing that it hasn’t been out much since this summer. After our hike, we got in line to board the ferry headed for France. It was two hours long, and a really cool experience.
 2nd stop: Lille, France: We have long time Army friends that are stationed there so we had a pit stop at their cool apartment. We went into town with them, what a beautiful city Lille is. Spent then night, had a wonderful breakfast with lots of talks and laughs and headed on to our next stop
 3rd stop, Rothenburg, Germany:  That was about a 6 hour drive, and we also made a pit stop in Luxenburg City, Luxenburg for a Christmas market and dinner. That place was beautiful, too. But the real beauty was Rothenburg. That place was magical. I kept saying that over and over again, the girls kept making fun of me for it. It is a well preserved medevil city that is walled completely and seems to be untouched on the inside. Every road is cobblestone and every building is old, but well- kept. There are tons of shops, food, sweets, but it was so quaint and the atmosphere was exactly what you would want. There was a Christmas market, shopping, eating, mulled wine and hot chocolate and a tour with a night watchman where we learned the history of this amazing city. I did not want to leave this place, but after two nights, we were on to our next stop.
 4th stop: Jaun, Switzerland: This town was the smallest place I’ve ever seen. I never really knew what the term, “sleepy town” looked like until we arrived in Jaun (pronounced like yauwn). The swiss alps are everything you would hope they would look like and then some. There was still plenty of snow on the ground, but the temps stayed in the mid 50s and THE SUN WAS ALWAYS SHINING!!!!!! This place was just what the doctor ordered for all of us. We were there 5 days and completely relaxed. We went on walks, went out to eat, played games, sat by the fire and just enjoyed being together. Santa even visited us there, which was really cool for the girls. We toured a swiss chocolate factory with so many samples, we were stuffed for hours. Josh found this amazing hike for us to go on, so we stocked up on food supplies and were going to head up to the top and ride a gondola back down the mountain. Before we got started, we realized it was going to be a bit too much for me, so I road the gondala up to the top and waited for my family at the top. 2 hours later, they emerge out of the woods!! Josh said they did amazing for a 2 hour hike up steep snowy mountains in the Alps. They were filled with stories and funny things that happened and really made me feel like I was there with them. I am amazed by there energy, that was a tough one. Christmas Eve we went to the local church at the bottem of the hill by our house and it was completely in German...everything, the serman, the singing, all of it. But, we picked out the words “Jesus, Mary, Bethlehem”, so we knew what it was all really about. Switzerland was so great for us, and after 5 days, we still didn’t want to leave, but it was on to our next stop.
 5th stop, Bastogne, Belguim: This stop was really for Josh and me, being WWII fanatics, but hopefully the girls got something out of it and when they study the Battle of the Bulge in school, they will be able to say there were at that sight. We stayed there 2 nights and toured the museam which was so amazing and well done. I could of stayed for hours. What an amazing time that was and the museam did a great job at taking you through the time line. After the museam, we went into town and had “mules and frites” or mussels and fries and they were HEAVENLY!!!!!!!!!! That and the great beer was a great ending to a great trip.
 We headed back home after that and still had 5 days here to recoup! My cousin Chris’ wife, Julie and their oldest girls, Macy and Hannah Brooke were in London visiting Julies brother after Christmas. They took the train out here to Cheltenham and spent the night with us. We wish they could of stayed longer, but it was great to have them. It was so nice having that relaxing time at home as well, and that is just what we needed! Once of the best trips of my whole life!
  We are busy planning our next trips and are gearing up for a steady stream of vistitors starting with my mom and Aunt Patsy in February, Josh’s dad and stepmom in March, my dad in April, our neice Maggie in June, Josh’s sister, Mia and kids in August and Josh’s mom and stepdad in late August, then Josh’s sister, Che and family in December.  We are so thankful that our family is going to take the time (and money) to come visit us.
  My health is good, as good as can be expected. Chemo ended December 7th and that was a good day. It took almost 2 weeks to get over that one, but once I did, I felt great. I continue to feel good, have regained a normal appetite and more energy every day. I still have some pain in my lower back, and probably will always, but it hasn’t kept me down. It actually feels better when I move around and go for walks. I will continue to have “treatment” every 3 weeks with the cleopatra trail drugs that I was also recieving when I was getting chemo. They are still delivered with an IV (I’ve gotten so used to those now) but they give me no side effects, which is a relief. It only takes about 2.5 hours to get this treatment and eventually, we will set it up so I can recieve it at home. That will be nice. I also still recieve my bone strengthing shot every 4 weeks. I’m not sure when I will have another scan, probably in the next several months. I’m not really mentally ready for one yet, but I know I will need one soon. My doctor says that my bloodwork continues to be good and the numbers of the tumor markers continue to fall (that’s a good thing). So, between those marker numbers, and my symptoms, and the occasional scan, that is how we will monitor this cancer from now on. It’s pretty tough knowing that it will always be with me, but hopefully with the diet changes I’ve made and the medicine that I will take, it will keep the brakes on it. Who knows what will come out in the next few years that might completely take it away. Beleive me, those are my prayers.
 I hope you know how much Josh and I have appreciated all the prayers, the packages, the cards, the money donations for food, everything that you have done for us. I am so terrible about keeping up with thank you notes and I truly wish I could write each and every one of you a note telling you what you have done for me and for my family during this crazy time. Thanks so much for your love and your support and your prayers. They really do work, I feel stronger every day because of them.