Happy New Year 2016!

Greetings! For those of you that may not have heard from us in the past year, can you tell from this picture that life is good? Hope that puts your heart and mind at ease right away. We realize that in the world of unpredictable Multiple Myeloma, not hearing from fellow survivors for a bit can be scary. 

In November of 2015, EZ and I were able to celebrate our 40th anniversary (a month early) in beautiful Samana, Dominican Republic! It was an amazing time away for the two of us, to reflect on all of God's goodness in our marriage, and in Ernie's battle with MM. We took long walks on the beach, snorkled, dined in fine fashion, watched beautiful sunsets, and just enjoyed celebrating love and life.

With EZ's diagnosis six years ago, we were shocked, saddened, devastated, fearful, confused and overwhelmed. But today, we are grateful and full of hope for our future. Our prayer is that others would be encouraged by our journey, and see that there is One bigger than ourselves and our circumstances. Thank you to our family, friends, and church for your prayers and support over the years. 

EZ's M-spike remains at 0, "undetectable". The results of his bloodwork remain stable, as they have all year. He continues to take 10 mg Revlimid daily, with no days off, and has been on this regimen for 5 years now, tolerating it exceptionally well. Yes, he lives with neuropathy, daily sweating, a suppressed immune system, and insomnia, but overall, he can still enjoy life every day!

I can't wait to share more highlights (EZ's deep sea fishing trip to the Bahamas), and lowlights (the passing of his sweet Mom), from 2015. My goal is to blog much more often. We love and appreciate those we have met online, traveling a similar, or dissimilar, journey with MM, and never want to lose touch. There were many times in the past that we never imagined traveling again, or seeing our 40th anniversary, but here we are. If you are facing difficult circumstances, try to keep the faith and hold on to hope for the future. We are proof you might be surprised by all the blessings that await you!

 

And Now...Let's Go To Seattle!

My younger brother, Johnny, and I were born in Seattle. My father was in the Army, and my parents were stationed there two different times, with an assignment in Alaska in between. My mother has always dreamed of taking us back to see our birthplace, and she had hoped that we could even find the house we lived in back in the 50's. The beauty of all of this is that she also wanted to take her three grown children and their spouses on an Alaskan Cruise with her, up the Inside Passage...departing from Seattle! She made that dream come true for all of us, in early May. We flew non-stop from Charlotte to Seattle, spent three days exploring this "City of Seven Hills", then boarded the Holland America cruise ship, Westerdam, for an amazing 7 day cruise. This was huge for EZ as it was the first time since his diagnosis three years ago, that he would be flying (and for six hours straight!). We had no idea if he would be able to "sit" for that long, but with some extra pain medication and first class seats that reclined a bit, he did great! We were all so excited about the amazing adventure we were about to go on thanks to Mom. We kids hadn't been together, just the grown ups, since before we all had children, and now grandchildren.

Cheers!

Airplane food isn't all that bad (yeah first class!)

Look at those mountains!

While in Seattle, we chose to rent a house overlooking Lake Washington, with a view of Mt. Ranier, rather than staying in a hotel for the three days. I am soooo glad we made that decision. It was beautiful, serene, and in a great location. We had two rental cars to explore the city with.

Our home for three days with view of the floating bridge

Mom

Oldest son David with wife Shannon

Youngest son Johnny with wife JoAnn

Middle child Linda with husband EZ

Look real closely and you can see Mt. Ranier in the distance (from our balcony)

After a long day of travel, time for pizza with Johnny and JoAnn!

Let the good times begin with Mom, David, Shannon and EZ!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Snowy Retreat in Boone

It has been a while since I posted, and several of you kind blog readers have emailed us on how we are doing. In short, we are doing quite well. My numbers in November were continuing to improve and Dr. Kritz decided that I only needed to come by for a check up every two months.  What a difference from going to the Cancer Center daily for radiation, or being hospitalized for 31 days, or having blood work and bone strengthener every month. It may be old age or chemo brain, but I am having difficulty remembering the last time I had a Cancer Center checkup. Linda just reminded me that I do have one coming up February 22nd.

January was a busy month, so Linda and I decided to head to Boone on Friday, February 1st. The forecast called for snow, and what's better than being by a warm fire in a cozy cabin in snowy Boone? We met with good friends on Friday evening and enjoyed a wonderful meal together. Our friend John snapped a photo of me when I was out on the porch enjoying the cold weather and a view of Grandfather Mountain:

Here are the ladies:

We ventured out as a group on Saturday evening to Char, a restaurant in Boone, and after a wonderful dinner the skies opened up and the blizzard began.

Our MDX has four wheel drive and we had no problem getting home, but slipping and sliding for others was in full mode, and even our friends had trouble getting back to their mountain home. The snow continued that evening and into the following day, and we got a total of about five inches of the fluffy white stuff:

Linda and I ventured out each day for a walk with the dogs and they had a great time:

By Wednesday, most of the snow had melted when Linda and I ventured over to Bass Lake near Blowing Rock to enjoy a cool winter evening there:

The time always goes quickly and the time to pack up and leave always comes way too fast.   Heading home on Thursday we stopped by Chapel Hill to have dinner with son, Nick, and finally arrived home about 9pm. This morning I snapped a shot of Milo recuperating from his snowy time in Boone. I think I will join him and go take a nap.

Cabin Readied for Christmas

As soon as Thanksgiving passes, we like to start decorating for Christmas! We share ownership of the cabin with four other couples, and whatever family is there the weekend following Thanksgiving hangs the decorations. This year it was our turn! Special memories always flood our minds as we place each ornament on the tree. What a joy it is to travel to the beautiful NC mountains in December, often with a dusting of snow, to ready our hearts and home for the celebration of Christmas.

The tree and mantel are decorated, the garland is hung and now on to the table and bedding...

Hoping it looks like this next time we visit...

Before we knew it our time at the cabin was over, and we were heading back with the live tree we picked out on top of the car. There's a whole lot more decorating to do! Just love this time of year.