almost december already...

i think this month flew by...maybe because it was so uneventful with tims "stuff". i actually felt it was a bit annoying...as many of you know he is STILL having problems with his esophagus and swallowing plus in the morning his mouth and tongue are a mess (thank goodness for morphine). his oncologist says go back to the GI people so we did and they piddled around and now we FINALLY have another scope (with an internal ultrasound) scheduled for December 10th. they had tried changing one of his medications but that didn't help at all and they even tried a new medication but that just made him very nauseous and gave him an upset stomach. (we have 117 doses of that medicine left that will probably go down the drain).

so...we see the oncologist on dec 5th and the scope/ultrasound is on dec 10th.

tim was able to spend all day monday searching for bambi's daddy but only saw doe. he is working and can still function and pretty much do what he wants but he is very uncomfortable when he eats and drinks. it is hard to fatten him up when he goes home for thanksgiving and LOSES weight. pray that this scope shows them which direction to go with a treatment that will give him some relief. the oncologist still thinks it is lymphoma related and the GI guy is not convinced...we are at the point where the name is not that important...we just need it fixed!!!

everyone else here is good...i have a few days off and will hopefully be able to get some christmas shopping done.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

after the holiday...

well...the kids are back to school and tim is back to work and i have to start cooking for myself again...i guess that means the holiday is over.

we had a nice holiday in berwick and everyone is doing ok.

i will post another update a little later on today...but i just wanted to say HI and that i haven't fallen off the edge of the earth or anything. i will be back a little later on. you can't imagine what getting a few minutes on the computer is like in a house full of teenagers.

have a great day.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

time to give thanks...

...as i was looking back over the last year it was quite humorous at times. quite sad at times. and down right depressing at times. but the overall theme that came out of all those blog updates was how blessed we have been this last year.

sure we have had a flood in the house and a few trips to the ER with the kids and tim has battled a sinus infection and two staph infections and skin cancer and a relapse of his lymphoma BUT...we also got to watch our kids grow another year older and watch tons of field hockey and tons of soccer and see meg get her drivers license and be inducted into the national honor society and see the twins go to their first homecoming...

we are thankful that we are still able to get thru each day...one day at a time.

i know that thanksgiving is not normally an overly religious holiday...but for us it is all about our GOD. we give all the thanks and all the praise to the One that has gotten us this far. do we still have issues to deal with...absolutely...but who doesn't !!!

for the next couple of days we forget about what may be coming and focus on what we have and what we have been able to endure and say that LIFE IS GOOD.

family and friends and pumpkin pie...

have a great thanksgiving holiday and as always THANKS FOR CHECKING IN....

tim and tammy

its snowing...

poor guy...

the gals in the house are ecstatic and he just moans. he is struggling to keep warm when the winds are blowing and the dampness is in the air and just the sight of snow gives him a chill.

poor guy...

well...we have had a very frustrating week of waiting. haven't been able to touch base with the endoscopy guy. talked with his nurse on friday and she assures me that he will be in touch-probably monday.

i worked the weekend. not much really to say.

i am working on our "thanksgiving" blog update...keep watching.

thanks for checking in...

tim and tammy

wednesday night...

nothing new to report.

i did find out that i am getting too old to blow up 140 balloons...megan was inducted into the national honor society last night and we decided we wanted to do something special so she would ALWAYS remember the night...so we waited until she went inside and then we stuffed over 140 red and white balloons into her car!!! it was a really nice ceremony and having the car stuffed full of balloons was just the right touch for afterwards. (can't be serious all the time).

we still have not heard from the endoscopy guy...tim is going to call him AGAIN tomorrow. now we are getting so close to the holiday i don't think tim really wants anything done...forget the turkey...can't mess with deer hunting season!!! yes...he is planning on going out hunting this year. (infact, he is really looking forward to it...i just hope it isn't too cold).

well...gotta get the kiddos to bed.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

nice three day weekend...

kiddos are off today for veterans day...that made for a nice little break before the big thanksgiving break. tim is going into work today...i think he is afraid i will make him clean with me if he stays home.

hopefully we will hear from the endoscopy guy today...his eating this weekend was difficult.

not much really to say...hope you all had a great weekend.

i will update more when we talk to the doctor.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

loving this weather...

(that would be tammy NOT tim talking) this has to be my second favorite time of the year...right next to the first major snow-fall. poor tim is not adjusting very well to this weather.

we are heading into another weekend and all is well (i guess). our oncologist is heading to the bahamas and tim is wishing he was going with him...nothing really new or exciting to report. we are going to follow-up with the endoscopy guy hopefully next week and see what is next. it seems as though we are going to be heading towards a very "gentle" stretching of the esophagus may be in the near future (along with new biopsies).

we have been seeing this same doctor now for quite awhile and every time we leave his office we try to go someplace to sit and re-hash what was said...some times we are on the same page and other times it is like we were in two different places. it seems like he occasionally talks in "code" and we sit and try to figure out what he meant by this or by that...but the last two appts we have both left with the SAME impression of what the doctor is saying:

after the exam is all over he pulls up a stool and leans against the wall and crosses his legs...and begins to tell us how "surprised" he is that this chemo is lasting this long. very glad, of course, but surprised. he makes sure we are aware of the fact that he feels tims body is in a constant battle which he calls "graft vs lymphoma". (meaning that tim's transplant has stopped picking on tims body which is "graft vs host" and has now kicked it up a notch and is fighting the lymphoma which is the "graft vs lymphoma").

although he never actually used the words "volcano waiting to errupt"...this is the general impression that we both have gotten. nothing really had changed in the recent past (other than the esophagus issues) but for some reason our doc has felt the need TWICE now to make sure that we remember that we are in a constant battle...who knows???

why do i tell you all this...i guess to remind you all out there to keep praying for us. we thank GOD each and every day for getting tim this far...but we are not satisfied with playing the waiting game...we want the cancer gone.

keep tim in your prayers...always.

enjoy your weekend...i will try to keep tim warm.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

20 years later...

hard to believe that we have actually put up with each other for 20 years but i guess it is true...wednesday is our 20th wedding anniversary. it is only fitting that we should spend it at the oncologist office!!!

it is really a bit bizarre...

to have and to hold
for better for worse
for richer for poorer
in sickness and in health
to love and to cherish
till death do us part.

...i believe we have officially hit each and every category (some more than once) but as strange as it may seem it wasn't until we hit every category that i could say "to love and to cherish..." with such sincerity and honesty. we have reached a level of trust and love towards one another that most marriages will never understand. we have learned to cherish each and every day that we have together-one day at a time. they say that a couple that prays together stays together...i have to admit there was A LOT of prayer put into this marriage but here we are 20 years later.

i am not onto "mushy"...the card he will get today is humorous (and that is the way i like it). but for all of you out there in blog-land...i will love and cherish 'till death do us part and i hope and pray that we can put in for another 20 years.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

ps...plumbing problem is fixed.

monday morning....

...we survived the weekend (and what a weekend it was). it was one wild and crazy weekend.

tim and i went to the CMN Miracle Ball on saturday night and that was very nice...it really cracks kelsey up that we went to a "ball". (she is just jealous).

sunday started out with church and sticking with the DEWALT tradition of disasters sometime between sunday school and church our plumbing decided to errupt through the basement drain...so keep in mind that the remaining weekend we were on water conservation...no showers, no laundry, no dishwasher (not that i was really planning on cooking anyway), etc...

right after church we went to the last outdoor soccer game at 1pm then megan and i went to see TSO at the hershey giant center (part of her birthday present) at 3pm then the whole family had to be in grantville holiday inn by 6pm for a field hockey banquet. we were very proud of our field hockey girls...megan received another varsity pin and kelsey (our freshman) received her first varsity letter and "rookie of the year" award. we are so proud of all three of our girls...

after all that-thank goodness for neighbors who don't mind sharing their water supply and showers.

i am heading to the laundromat to start on a boat-load of wash while we wait for our plumber to fit us into his already insane schedule. (good thing i was off today).

tim is still plugging along...on saturday before the "ball" he broke the lawn-mower on a tree stump...i wonder if the plumber can fix that too while he is here>>>i think we just need a new blade or something like that.

i think that is pretty much it for this weekend...i can hardly wait for next weekend.

as usual thanks for checking in...we are at the oncologist wednesday afternoon. we will update any news after that. we will also be discussing our option with the endoscopy guy too.

tim and tammy.

pretty good week...

it is 6:30am and tim is all dressed up and out of the house...things are DEFINITELY improving. he is tired when he gets home at night but getting back into a routine and being back at the office is a GOOD thing.

today he is heading to allentown to do what he does best...sell PEPSI.

kids are good. this weekend is the field hockey banquet and the last "outdoor" soccer game. i wonder what we will do with all our time after this sunday. (i am sure we will think of something)

that is about it...it has really been a good week overall.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy