Happy Mother's Day!

Hope you all had an awesome Mother's Day with your children, your Mothers or someone who's filled that void in your life! I had a wonderful celebration with my family. My husband grilled out lunch with my amazing children assisting with side dishes & desserts!! Oh, and not to mention presents for their Momma! I'll admit it, I love presents & I got some wonderful ones! I have such an amazing family & I don't know why I've been so blessed but I'm so thankful that God has done it for me!

Baseball season has started here again. We are at a ballpark somewhere almost every evening & are loving it. Owen & Myer are playing wonderfully again this year. There is so much improvement since last year. They are really enjoying themselves & we are enjoying sharing this time with them!

Me & my amazing children; Regan, Tyler & Kelly.

Our "supermodel" pose!!



Me & my "baby boy"!











We are enjoying our time at the cabin & construction is coming along nicely. We hope to hve a large portion done by Memorial Day. I'll post pictures & get you all up to date later. By the way...you all have a standing invitation to come to up & spend some time whenever you 'd like! Give us a call & we'll figure out a good time!! We'd love to have you!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

The Great Room...big blank wall will have a stone fireplace & chimney to the ceiling.

Looking from the great room thru the kitchen into the new master bedroom.

Looking into the new master bedroom from the new kitchen.

The view from the master bedroom (closet on the right) hallway with pantry on the left thru to the kitchen & greatroom.

Helo again!! finally an update!

I am still here!! It's been a long time...since March 6th to be exact. That was my 1 year diagnosis anniversary. It's been a great 6 weeks since then. I've started the new medication, Doxil & things are going really good. I've had no side effects as of yet. I have my 2nd treatment tomorrow & I appreciate your continued prayers for the effectiveness & minimal side effects. Thank you!!!

We have been enjoying some time at the cabin. We've had a couple really beautiful weekends up there, weather-wise. Spring is springing in MN...finally. We have had a couple cool snaps but things are blooming & sun in shining. I even have some tulips coming up at the cabin. We are adding on to our little piece of heaven & hope it will be done by summer/Memorial Day weekend. I'll attach some pictures.

I'm going to be having another birthday in a couple days (the 21st) & I'm looking forward to celebrating!! We are going to the new Pizza Ranch in Champlin & maybe even Cherry Berry yogurt for dessert. Being together is the best present of all!!

Ed & I took a road trip to Alabama a few weeks ago to visit his family. It was so beautiful down there! We really enjoyed the trip itself...we both love to travel. Then a week or so ago I went to Ohio to visit my folks by myself. I drove all the way there & back on my own. It was a great trip & I got to surprise my Mom & Dad!

Well...not much else is new here. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer at the cabin with family & friends!! If any of you are in the neighborhood of Moose Lake...drop in!!! We'd love to have ya!

"Old" gas station in Athens, AL

Old mild wagon my Father-in-law gave me...over 100 years old!!

Our cabin additon...great room on the left...master bedroom on the right!



Happy Anniversary!

Today is my "one year since diagnosis" anniversary so I celebrated with a 2 hour massage!! Came home & there were flowers sitting on my front porch! A beautiful bouquet of tulips & irises!! It just doesn't seem like it's been a year since we got the horrible news of ovarian cancer.

But in many ways it's been a blessing. It has really helped me understand & know what is important & what isn't. It's brought our family closer & made us more understanding of each other. We have enjoyed being back home from Amsterdam this past year. Being back with our family is the best medicine ever!

I am getting ready to start a new medicine in a couple weeks, Doxil. This drug has been unavailable for many months/years because of drug shortages. The FDA was just approved to import it from another country & my very wise doctor wants me on it!! I'm excited to get started. I just pray, and ask you to do the same, that side effects will be minimal & most of all that it will be effective!

We are celebrating Owen's 12th birthday this week! Wow doesn't seem at all that he can be that old!! Seems like just a few days ago I was snuggling him on the couch, looking out the big picture window at all the birdies. Owen, you're such a sweet kid & we are so very, very proud of you!!

Been a while...

Thought I should get on here & at least say hello to everyone. Hope your new year is off to a smashing start! All is well here at the "Peek Plantation". Treatment continues to go well...still on Cytoxan (orally) every day & Avastin (infusion) once every 3 weeks. Side effects are basically nonexistent so for that I am extremely thankful!!

We have been really enjoying our winter here in MN; basically no winter to speak of. Very little snow & not very cold. Winter isn't over yet so we don't want to speak too soon!! We've been enjoying watching our middle grandson play basketball this winter. This is the one that broke his femur playing football this past fall!  He is actually playing in a tournament this weekend; his team is 5-1 so he's excited. The other two grandsons are doing great...growing up way too fast!!

Ed & I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day. We were actually in Las Vegas; he was out there speaking at a conference & we took a couple extra days for fun. I got to do some "out of my league" shopping (meaning Tiffany, Louis Vitton, Gucci, etc) sit by the Fountains of Bellagio, go to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum & sit in the quiet with my book & crossword puzzles! I was hoping it would be warm enough to sit by the pool; at least without a jacket but not yet. Still had a wonderful time. We saw Terry Fator, a ventriloquist that won America's Got Talent a couple years ago & a Legends in Concert show. Both were very fun! Spent a lot of time just walking too & we always enjoy that.

We are looking foward to warm weather & getting out on the Harley. We have a couple trips planned for the coming year so it can't get here soon enough. Hope you all are doing well & remember...

LIFE IS GOOD!

Rhonda & the "Elvi"

Ed & I on the Goldola at The Venetian!!

Happy 2012!!

Hello All!
Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & safe great new year celebration. Ours was amazing. It was so good I got to go to Yellow Tree Theatre with good friends & see Miracle on Christmas Lake-Pt 2. You've all got to see it next year! Such good belly laughs!

I am feeling great. I am continuing my daily chemotherapy pills (cytoxin) and once every three weeks infusion (avastin). I'm having basically no side effects so this is a very good thing. The only "side effect" I guess is that I've lost almost all my eyelashes. Nothing else! Oh, well...I can handle that! So my appetite is good, energy level is good & I'm able to do just about anything I want. I've started volunteering once a week at the cancer center & that brings me great joy. I feel like I'm helpful to the staff there & I've made some good friends. I think I'm helpful to the patients too. I've visited with some who are in their first or second chemotherapy treatments so we chat & we both feel better (I think ;-)) I had a CT scan last Friday (1/20) and will get the results on Wed (1/25) so I'd appreciate a little extra prayer on that morning. I feel confident that Dr Downs will tell me that the tumor is shrinking & we'll continue with the meds that I'm on now.

Our family is all healthy & happy so that is a lot to be thankful for. We have been going to watch our middle grandson play basketball (the same one that broke his femur playing football). Our oldest grandson has his first orchestra concert tomorrow night; we are looking forward to that! The youngest one is busy enjoying preschool & being a sweetheart. We still enjoy our weekly Friday night sleepovers with the grandsons. Such a wonderful gift for us!

We are also enlarging our cabin & that is super exciting for us. Hopefully the construction will be done by spring. I'll post pictures later. But our newest addition to the family is our beautiful moose head that we bought for the cabin. The boys named him Martin; I added Griswold. It is actually my & Ed's anniversary gift to each other. We will celebrate 37 years on Valentine's Day. We will be in Las Vegas; Ed is speaking at a conference that week. We plan on seeing Terry Fator, a ventriloquist on the 15th. Looking forward to a little bit of warm weather.

Hoping you all have a wonderful new year & check in here again soon!!

Corrections...

Got some dates confused & just want to update...I keep myself confused!!!

My next treatment is this week, December 30th. Just a normal infusion of Avastin. Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Then I have a CT scan on Friday, January 20th. Please pray for a good report & that the tumor is shrinking or even gone! I'll have an appointment with Dr Downs the following Wednesday, January 25th to get the results of the CT.

We've had a wonderful Christmas celebration with our family. Ed, the grandsons & myself went to the cabin for some R&R & really enjoyed ourselves. So quiet & beautiful up there!! Not much progress on the addition thus far. Hopefully things will speed up really soon. We took "Martin Griswold" up & he's waiting in the barn until the additions are done!! So very excited to have him join our family!! I'll post better pictures of him later (he's the moose head that we've wanted for many years).

Hope you all have an amazing New Year celebration & stay safe!!

Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas & a huge thank you for all your prayers & support in the past year. It is all appreciated aso much more than you will ever know! with friends like you all I feel like I can get thru anything! Love you guys!

Dr appts are going well & my side effects has still been very nominal. I am so thankful for this. I will have my 3rd treatment this coming Thursday. I also have a CT scan scheduled for about the 21 of June. Keep the prayers going!!

Me in front of the Dam Squares Christmas tree . The Queen's plalace is to my left & the Peek & Cloppenburg department store in to the left.

It was an amazing trip & we excercized a lot of demons.

quick update

My nephew Steven, me & Kelly

Just a quick update to let you all know where things are right now with me & my "situation". We were able to take a great trip to Huntsville, Alabama last week to see Ed's folks. Kelly & her boys went with us. We had such a wonderful time & the drive was awesome too. The boys did SO GOOD! They had plenty of video games & DVDs they could watch in the van we rented. It was a very comfortable drive. We stopped on the way down & the way home & let the boys swim & jacuzzi. Great relaxation!!

My treatment is going wonderful. I am on a daily chemo pill (cytoxan) & once every 3 weeks I have an infusion (IV treatment) of avastin. The avastin is supposed to choke off the blood supply to the tumor; essentially starving it out. The chemo works just as you'd expect chemo to. The best thing is that I have almost no side effects. No hair loss, fatigue, loss of appetite or nausea. So great. If I had more hair I'd never know that I was sick (which Dr Downs says "you're not sick"!) He also said I was sexy with my short hair & he loves it when women don't wear wigs. That's right up my alley; no wig! I'm feeling really good & keeping busy. I feel better when I'm busy & "keeping the wheels rolling"!!!

Ed & I went to a Gopher Game the end of October; what a beautiful day it was...and the Gophers actually won!!

Ed & I are leaving tomorrow for a trip to Amsterdam & Germany. He's going for business & I'm going for pleasure!! I hope to get to see some things in Amsterdam that I missed the first time around. Germany will be full of Christmas Markets & visiting friends. Looking forward to being away & relaxing with friends there.



So keep us in your prayers for safe travel & good health while we're away!! If I don't get back on here before, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Love to all!





News...

Hello Friends & Family,
It's been a little while since I've posted but we've had a bit of bad news so I've not been in the mood to write much. My cancer has returned & I'm not happy about it!! I was at the Women of Faith conference the weekend of Oct 21-22 & had what I thought was indigestion. After a couple days of vomiting & unbelievable pain; I was admitted to Maple Grove Hospital to find out I have 5 gallstones. They were trying to decide if the gallbladder needed to come out. The surgeon suggested that I see my oncologist (Dr Levi Downs) so I did a couple days later. Thinking I was only going down there to talk about my gall bladder, Ed didn't go with me. Didn't think I needed him to. Well...they told me there is a tumor about 8x12cm & probably wasn't the gallbladder at all. So...I've begun treatment again. A little different this time. I'll have an infusion of Avastin once every 3 weeks & a chemo pill (Cytoxan) every day.

This has been a real kick in the gut because I've been feeling great & had no idea this was going on. Please keep us all in your prayers as we continue to battle this "nasty little troll"!!

In the meantime, Ed & I got to spend today with Oliver at his Grandparent's Day at preschool. We had so much fun!! So fortunate to be able to do these kind of things with our family. So we do have many blessings that are being showered on our family. We have all become even closer to each other I think & we have definitely become closer to God. So in many ways, this has been a blessing; if that can be possible.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

October Update

Hello friends & family!
What a whirlwind of things over the end of the summer! We had Regan's wedding at the end of August; chemo finished the first part of August; cleared as cancer free the end of August; school started & the boys are all doing great. Football is going well, Myer is healing great & Oliver is going to full-day preschool. Life is good.

I did have a 'not so fun' weekend though. I went to the Women of Faith conference on Friday & had a gall baldder attack Friday night. Spent most of Saturday & Sunday in the Maple Grove hospital getting checked out & given pain & nausea meds after lots of violent vomiting...gross, huh?! My gall bladder needs to be removed but the surgeon needs to speak with my oncologist first...so in the meantime...I WAIT!! Some pain, fear of another attack & impatience of waiting are the way I spend my days now. Oh well...it's always something & getting older is not for sissies!!!

Thought I'd share some pictures of our late summer activities with you. Thanks for checking in & keep us in your prayers!

Blessings...

The bride with Mom & Dad

Dad & his girls

Mark & Regan on the bike

Myer the Rebel football player

Is Owen a teenager yet?!

Oliver & his beautiful eyelashes...what a sweet boy!

Always gotta have a silly family picture!

Kelly's sweet family

Auntie & her boys

The gorgeous bride & groom

Tyler & Mark

Doing Great!!! God is SO good!!!!

Hey everyone!
Thought I'd update again & just let you all know that your prayers have worked. I'm cancer free & feeling really good. I tell people, if I had hair I'd feel almost normal...I'm not sure I was ever "normal" but I'm feeling more like myself. The hair is coming...I look like a peach right now; very light, soft & fuzzy!!

I've been thoroughly enjoying my newfound health & trying to keep up with my grandsons & their football careers. The oldest one is loving his first year in football & has gained unbelievable confidence. This was a very good decision on his part. He's very good at the game & is loving it! The middle one is the known athlete. He's played baseball & football before, loves it & is very good at it. In the first scrimmage of the year at the Football Jamboree, he was playing starting quarterback & on the 4th play of the game he broke his left femur! Poor little guy is only 9 years old but has handled it all like a real trooper. He had surgery & now has 2 rods up thru the bone which will be removed in a few weeks. He's getting around very well on crutches & in his wheel chair. He was visited at school yesterday by Champlin Park Varsity football players & will be a guest at the game tonite. He's become a celebrity of sorts in Champlin...everyone knows or has heard about his injury. He started physical therapy this week so he'll be back to his old self in no time. The youngest one started a new preschool this year & we were very nervous about it. He can be very stubborn & if he decides not to do something, there's no talking him into it. He did great the first day & now is wanting to stay all day. My how they grow up!!

I hope to start doing some traveling with Ed & on my own. I'm hoping to get to return to Amsterdam for a visit & replace my bad memories of the place with good ones. I get to fly to Ohio in a couple weeks to visit with my family there. They've all been so supportive with prayers & cards & I want them to see how good I'm doing now. Can't wait to see them all!

Thanks for checking in on me & again...thank you SO much for your prayers, warm thoughts, good vibes or whatever else you did for me during this journey. It's not over so keep 'em coming. I will have a CT scan in November & every 3 months for 2 years so we're in this for the long haul!! Stay with us!

Love,
Rhonda

Great News!!!!!!!

Hey Y'all!!!
I AM CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got the good news this morning from the most amazing doctor & team in the world. I don't have to have any more chemo & life is good! I do have 2 small soft tissue masses that need to be biopsied & that will happen on Tuesday. Dr Downs says he's certain they are not cancer & he has several reasons why it isn't but we do need to find out what it is. Could be blood clots that are being reabsorbed by my body; could be just soft tissue. But we'll find out next week. I'll get the biopsy results on Friday when I will have the IP Port removed. That will be a great day...I feel like this port is an alien trying to get out of my body!!

So you're all not off the hook in the praying department. I'm asking for prayers next week for the biopsy results. I'm not worried at all & I'm thrilled to be free from "the troll"!!!

Thanks for all your prayers, good thoughts, positive energies, etc that you sent my way over the past several months. They have meant more to me than you know!!

CT Results tomorrow!

Hey friends!
I'm asking for prayers; especially tomorrow. I will get the results of my CT Scan that I had on Monday. this will determine what the treatments I've had have accomplished. I've been feeling great & we have every confidence that I'm going to be declared clean. But...all the prayers I can get surely can't hurt!!!





We thoroughly enjoyed our daughter's wedding & are thrilled to have a new son-in-law. They have returned from their honeymoon in Jamaica (right before the Hurricane Irene came through) & are ready to, as Regan said, begin their happily ever after!!

Our middle grandson just came home from the hospital. He broke his femur in his left leg on Saturday playing quarterback for his football team. He had surgery on Sunday afternoon & is doing pretty good. He could use prayers for pain management now that he's home. Prayers for the whole family as they care for him too.

Well, I think I've requested enough prayers for tonite. I hope to get some sleep...I'm very excited to get the news tomorrow...whatever it is. My goal is to want what God wants for me & accept it. Can't wait to get on here tomorrow & tell you it is all good news!!!

Oh! one other really good thing that has happened along in our lives. Ed & I got a new Harley last week! It's a Cadillac of Harleys & so much more comfortable than any I've ever riden before. I hope to ride much more now that I have a super comfortable "queen seat". We are enjoying it already!!



Wedding Week

Well, it's finally here..our baby girl is getting married this week! She's searched & found the one to make her happy...her best friend. We are so happy for her & love her fiance already. He will be a good addition to our family.

We are looking forward to family coming to town to celebrate with us. It will be an awesome week!

Also...football started this week for our two older grandsons. Quite an exciting time for them. They both played baseball this year & the middle one played football last year. This is the first year for the oldest one & he's discovering he's a really good athlete too. We can't wait to sit out at the ballfield watching them play.

Finished!!!!!!!

Yep, my chemotherapy treatments are finished!!! I had my last treatment on Monday, August 8th & it went well. I was given extra nausea meds for this week because we suspected that my side effects may be worse. The decadron I was given has really done the trick. Regan's bachelorette part is this Friday night (the 12th) so I really wanted to feel as good as I can for that...wedding is the 19th!!! Family will be coming in next Wed-Thurs & we're very excited!

One more prayer request if you don't mind...I'll have a CT scan on August 29th & meet with Dr Downs on the 31st for the results. Pray for a clear CT scan. Whatever the outcome, I'm ready to deal with it. But of course, a clear scan is what we're praying for.

It feels so good to know that I'm just going to keep feeling better & better. Knowing that the nausea will keep getting less & less...who knows; hair may even start coming back in a few weeks!! The hair is the least of my concerns actually. Not having to worry about hair, humidity, curl, friz, straightening has really been very freeing. Strange feeling I know, but an honest one. I can be ready to go in 15-20 minutes; showered & makeup on & out the door! Amazing!!

Thank you ALL so much for all your prayers, thoughts & well-wishes as we've been on this journey; it's not over by any means so keep 'em coming!!!

Guess what season is coming up!!! Yay! Football!!!

Can't wait to see Owen & Myer play...Oliver wishes he was playing!!

Great Saturday...how was yours?!

Today was an awesome day! Woke up to two smiling faces & asking "Nanie, can we make muffins?" How can you resist that? so Banana Nut muffins it is! I love the smell of baking in my kitchen...especially with grandsons waiting to start baking! The middle one needed some running shoes so we went to Dick's Sporting Goods in Riverdale Shopping Center. Got some free stuff & what we stoppin in there for; Zigtech shoes! He's thrilled!!
Picked up my first Vera Bradley tote bag & I love it. Makes me feel like a grandma! I love the whole "No Place Like Home" in the Maple Grove Main Street area. You should check it out!!

Then Hubby took me to buy some running shoes because I told him early in my cancer treatment that.  I wanted to become a runner (what was I thinking!!!) so I started out briskly walking today. Did a pretty good job I thought.

I've been feeling really good today & yesterday. Feel almost normal. We went to a friend's home to celebrate with him. One year ago he had a liver transplant & is doing phenomenal!! So we have proof that being a donor really does save lives!!

Took a good walk tonite (quite briskly) & did good. I'll work my way up to running...eventually!!

                                    Boys at the cabin & waiting for the Moose Lake Parade to start!! 

        The gang having bagels before the parade starts. We had so much fun on this day; as usual!!!

Love being a Grandma!!!

What a great day I've had! I've felt really good all day & then to top it off; I got to spend the evening with my grandsons!! Mama came over just for a few minutes & we got to keep the boys for an impromptu movie night...popcorn & all!!! Have you seen "Tangled"?!?! It's amazing...even the boys liked it..."just too much singing" they said. Ollie calls it "Tangled Up". What a cutie!!

So this has been a great week so far! No treatment this week...plans to spend time with my kiddos...plans to get together with with some girlfriends later...LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Add caption

 Racing sticks on the Kettle River.

Waiting for the 4th of July parade in beautiful downtown Moose Lake!

Hello again!

Hello followers! So sorry I've been off the radar for the past month! Oh my, I didn't realize it'd been that long. Lots of things happening & our family stays pretty busy, especially during the summer months! Lots of baseball games (2 grandsons playing), trips to the cabin, "spa" treatments, & down days.

This last treatment has knocked me for a loop so I've been laying low the last couple days but I think I'm on the mend. Feeling better & looking forward to the end of my treatments on August 8th!!! Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Pray it's not another train!!! ;-))

We've had lots of celebrating to do in our family too the past few weeks. 2 grandsons have celebrated birthdays in the past month. Both are unique & so special to us in his own way. They are sweet, cuddly boys & we love them so much. We treasure our regular Friday night sleepovers & any time we get to spend with them. The two older ones are headed to church camp at Flaming Pine Youth Camp tomorrow for a week! Keep them in your prayers as they learn to rely on each other & God this week.

Our big celebration for the summer will be our middle child's wedding on August 19th!! She is marrying a wonderful man & he seems to compliment her perfectly. They are very happy & excited to start this new page in their story. Lots of family & friends are planning trips to Minnesota to help us celebrate. Please keep them all in your prayers also.

We have had some wonderful weekends at our cabin in Moose Lake this summer! We are planning on adding onto our little "heaven on earth" soon. We want to add a bedroom because this woman isn't going to be able to climb into the loft bedroom forever!! We are very excited to have this opportunity to enlarge & share more of what we've found. Eventually, we will add a large greatroom/family room also. Looking forward to spending some Christmases up there!!

Just a quick note to those who have made hats for me; I am really trying to get some pictures on here this week. My amazing hubby bought me a new computer & I haven't transferred all my pictures from the old one. Please be a little more patient with me; I will try to get it done soon.

Thank you for stopping by & keeping an interest in what's going on with us. Please keep our family in your prayers as we continue this journey toward good health for me & a new member of our family is added in a few weeks!!

Long Time No See!!

Hello All!

So sorry I've been non-existent for the past few weeks! Just not much to write about I guess. Still not much but I'm going to attempt to catch you up with what I've been doing.

We're glad to see summer time come. That hopefully means more time at the cabin for us & the family. Especially since we just bought 2 4-wheelers & are having a ball with them!! Here's some pictures just to prove it! We've even had some company at the cabin; Mark's parents, Reggie & Lauretta came & spent a weekend with us a few weeks ago. We had a great time together & really enjoyed ourselves.

My hosta garden & bone yard.

Tyler & Mark after mudding!

Our campgroud.

I've planted a flower bed in the back yard around our big maple tree. We used to have hostas in here but I dug those last year & moved them to the cabin. I wanted some color in the back yard, besides green, so I planted some impatients & got my color. I think they're beautiful!

Me & my new flowerbed. I'm so proud.













We also celebrated Regan's birthday in May with dinner at 50s Grill, in Brooklyn Center, one of our favorites. The milkshakes & malts are amazing! If you want a good old-fashioned burger & milkshake...this is the place!

Here's the diploma to prove it!

Sitting with Mama during graduation.

And the mortar board too!!

Ollie's first mohawk! He was so proud of it!!


Oh, and I have to tell you, Oliver graduated from pre-school in May too. But he didn't want to participate in the program at all so we just took pictures afterward. Man, that kids is stubborn! If he doesn't want to do something...there is no making him do it!