Woah, Long Time No Blogging!

I really can't believe it's been three months since I blogged. As our routine became more "normal" and issues related to Multiple Myeloma became more mundane (and that's a good thing!), the busyness of life just took over. So much has gone on these past three months it's hard to know where to begin!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration with the whole family able to join us at home. We even had a special guest...Nick's girlfriend, Anne. We were all smitten, and very thankful she could join us for church and Easter dinner. Anne has just completed her second year of dental school, and the two of them really compliment one another. We have enjoyed having her at many more gatherings since Easter and already feel like she is part of the family! (She was a brunette with straight hair when we met her, but has gone back to her natural color and curls. All of our curly haired granddaughters are thrilled!)

(Lovely dishdrain,..hostess fail!)

 EZ had his 6 month check-up at Duke (4-4-13) and all is great. No M-spike detected, continue on 10 mg. Revlimid daily, and come back in 6 months. We were thrilled! This August will be three years post transplant. We continue to have confidence in the oncologists that are determining EZ's plan of treatment, and pray that this complete response hangs around a long time. We also attended two seminar/dinners put on by the ABMT Clinic at Duke (in April and June), and were able to hear from them about all the latest research and clinical trials. It is always a blessing to re-connect with other survivors, new and old, and see them doing so well!

Our son Nick was presented with his "white coat" during a special ceremony at the UNC School of Dentistry (4-5-13). This signifies his official entry into patient care at the clinic, and it was quite impressive. We are so proud of all the hard work he has put in studying this first year in order to reach this point. He will be leaving on July 16th for a month in Nepal, to participate in a humanitarian project with four other students and a faculty member. They will hold dental camps providing much needed dental care such as extractions, fillings, cleanings, and sealants. They will then travel on foot in the Annapurna Ranges, providing oral hygience education and supplies to villages along the route. This is an amazing opportunity for Nick and we can't wait to see pictures and hear about his experience.

We celebrated EZ's Dad's 90th birthday (4-11-13) with a visit to the mountains. His father continues to amaze us with how active he is mentally and physically. He loves nothing more than riding tractors, four wheelers, and bulldozers in the woods. We just recently celebrated EZ's Mom's 89th birthday (6-18-13) and feel so blessed to have both of them in our lives, married 67 years!

 On 4-25 we headed for Jacksonville, FL for the wedding of a longtime friend's son. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, seeing friends from our years spent in south Florida. It was a beautiful rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception and we are thrilled for Daniel and Rebecca!

 

The biggest news for April involved all the preparations to list our house for sale. It is sold, and we are officially closing in a month, both on our current home and a new home...yikes! More on all that coming soon, but for now I've got to start packing!