catch up post

[Joy]

Hi everyone, I have been a lazy poster lately. Summer with kids at home, you know.

BUT I just wanted to say in my very best high school year book format:

Happy Birthday Joe and may this be a wonderful year for a wonderful man!

Happy Anniversary to an amazing couple! Joe and Chirstine you are so inspirational and very loved.

Andi, I'm thinking of you a lot.

Tousled, I'm very sorry for the loss, very, very sorry.

Vanessa, CONGRATULATIONS! I so hope those grandbabies are making you smile a lot (babies do that).

JoJo, I'll look forward to hearing how the trial is going for you.

WooHoo to all who have fininshed chemo and are on to other things.

Thank you again to all of you who find the great research, I just love it.

I know I'm forgetting some things and people, but suffice it to say that I say prayers twice a day for all of you collectively and many individually. I just pray for the breakthroughs for all of us so much all the time.

For what it is worth I am tolerateing Tykerb/Xeloda very well-almost makes me nervous. I so hope it is working (duh).

My bestest friend from 6th grade is staying with us for most of the summer and that has been delightful. It is so nice to have a grown up around who likes to eat fun, healthy food and try new recipes with-kids are alway a little tricky with that as many of you know. For example, the other night I made a recipe called "Garlicky Roasties" which was fingerling, different colored potatoes that are boiled for a few and them splashed in hot walnut oil and rosted with a bulb of garlic which is served together. Okay, they were DELICIOUS! My 8 year old, who likes potatoes, announced that they looke like dead, rotten fish. Such a proud, table-manner moment for me.

Anyway, we have done yardwork and flower planting and cleaning that I could never get done regularly between day to day basics and kids and time doing things with them.

We have caught up on movies, laughed a lot, saw the Police in Denver and had a night of craziness all over that city. And done much more.

This is the kind of thing that makes life so great.

Today, we organize and pack for our big family trip (ex-husband and all) to Texas. We leave tomorrow morning and will drive as long as we can, stop somewhere and arrive in San Antonio on Saturday for a couple days of fun. Then we are off to Lake Amistad for our houseboat trip. The kids are so excited, which makes it so great.

I'll miss checking in with all of you and will catch up upon return. But I am going to spend a lot of time in stillness sending you all the very best wishes!


LOVE, JOY (class of '85)

OH, I so wish I was in California for the gathering-have so much fun!