Hair Cut

We were advised to not wait until my hair fell out on its own,

but to be proactive.

So we had a haircutting party.

Since I was cutting my hair so close to my head, I had enough to donate.

Each of my girls cut two ponytails off.

And then came the clippers.

But I don't walk this path alone.

Benjamin shaved his head.

And we had a Zoom hair cutting party for two orchestra students in Arkansas,

my cousin in Louisiana, and a good friend of Sarah's in Pennsylvania.

 

In addition, my fabulous students have been sending me pictures of how they are supporting me with their hair choices.

Some are cutting and donating all the way from Spain,

some said "This is as short as my mom will let me cut my hair!"

And some just went with a cleaner look. I am overwhelmed and encouraged by all of these thoughtful people who want to love and support me through this cancer journey!

4th of July Weekend in Dallas

Long before my cancer diagnosis, we had planned to get the family together in Dallas over the 4th of July weekend. We have to work well in advance to coordinate all of our schedules! Sarah performed in Family Music Theater's Footloose, and it was a joy to see her shine on stage.

 

We also celebrated Hannah and Benjamin's first anniversary. They had donuts as their wedding cake, so we also had donuts. What a fabulous tradition!

I had sweet walking buddies,

and game buddies. Carcassonne is still a family favorite.

Staying in Dallas definitely has perks. The housing at the International Linguistic Center is exactly what we need at exactly the right price. 

And we get to see some of our favorite people, like the Gebauers.

and the Huntleys.

The Huntley ladies arrived just in time to be waffle fairies and help with breakfast.

In addition to my morning walks with Roxanne, we got to enjoy seeing the rest of the family when they graciously joined us for an evening meal. Sharing life together with this crew is something I certainly miss.

Friday Favorite Five

 

1) This tomato may very well be my new favorite. The Queen of the Night from Baker Creek Seeds is looking good on the vine, and I can't wait to taste it! Our pineapple tomatoes aren't far behind...

2) As a highly sensitive person (HSP), I really appreciate this article. It gives me words to help describe how I'm feeling AND it gives practical tips.

3) Ever since our daughter Sarah introduced me to The Roasted Root a couple of years ago, this website is my new favorite. I just made a big freezer stash of the blueberry banana baked oatmeal cups.

4) Aaron and I went through the marriage training for Prepare Enrich, and their blog supplies so many good resources. Recently, the article "6 Types of Rituals to Maintain in Your Marriage" hit home.

5) If you are looking for some tools to refresh your Jesus and Coffee time, check out Well-Watered Woman!

Last Week in June

The night before Chemo, and all through the house, no electricity was stirring...because a storm blew through and knocked out the power. So we sent Katherine to my parents' house, and Aaron and I stayed in a hotel because we had an early start the next morning.

We have really enjoyed the newest trail in town, Stone Dam Creek. It was the perfect way to move our bodies before being stuck in a chair for the rest of the day.

We were at CARTI by 7:30. With Aaron on my left, and a picture of my family on my right, I felt the prayers and support of hundreds of people.

Thankfully, I was also able to walk around during my treatment, so I often did laps around the infusion center.

My amazing hubby even left to go find me some coffee as a treat while I was sitting through the almost nine hours of pouring chemicals into my veins. He has been a rock through the last several weeks of this cancer journey. Who am I kidding?!?! He has been a rock through the course of our almost forty year old friendship.

I went home with the last medication in a little box on my arm, where it would "detonate" in 27 hours. Felt like something out of Star Trek!

While I still had energy, I met my mom and Katherine at the gym and we worked out for a little bit.

The next day, still riding high on the steroid and anti-nausea medications, I attended professional development by one of my favorite people, Jordan. I've known her since we were kids growing up at the same church, and she is one of the handful of people who still call me Jo. Her sessions are always encouraging and informative, and she always practices what she preaches.

When I got in the van to return home, I discovered that my Grandmother was still without power and needed a place to stay. So she moved in with us. We anticipated her staying about a week, since she lives out of town in a sparsely populated area, but she only got to stay one night.

The next day, I got a text from Jordan asking for my snail mail address, and moments later, another text saying to check my porch because she had dropped something off. The elephant was a reminder of one of her examples in class about how important it is to support each other and be a part of the "herd". I cried at her encouragement.

The same week, Olivia was trying to get back from Switzerland, but her planes kept getting cancelled.  She finally arrived three days later than originally planned. And Aaron had a fabulous out of the box idea to get her home sooner and to prevent her from having to sleep in the Chicago airport overnight.

She changed her flight to Kansas City, and a friend drove to the airport to pick her up. Then Aaron and Katherine drove to NW Arkansas and met Olivia and the friend, finally arriving home around 3:45 a.m. It was a crazy adventure, but we sure enjoyed having her smile and her music under our roof again. 

The gift of a week

 

The day after Father's Day, I was scheduled to begin chemotherapy if my incisions looked good, but the doctor decided to wait another week. God's timing was absolutely perfect, as always. 

Our translation team showed up ready to work, and because we have no way to communicate with them until they arrive at SITAG, we never know exactly when they are coming. My delay in treatment allowed Aaron and the team to work together for several days, continuing through the book of Matthew.

Any time I have a doctor's appointment in Little Rock or North Little Rock, we take advantage of the time together and turn the not-so-fun medical necessity into a more fun mini-date.

The week after Father's Day, we found a used bookstore, aptly named The Book Store, 

and also discovered a Star Wars themed coffee shop, The Dark Side.

I love my cello students, they are some of my favorite people. Last summer one of them broke her leg, and again this summer another one broke his leg. But he didn't let that stop him from practicing his cello or from coming to a lesson!

The delay in chemo also allowed us to spend some sweet time with our friends, the Gentry family.

We hadn't seen them since they lived briefly in Honiara, 

so when they said they would be driving through Arkansas, we jumped at the chance to chat again.

We also got a surprise text from my cousin to let us know they were going to be in town,

so we quickly rallied all of the cousins who were available and made an impromptu visit to the orchard to pick peaches.

Three generations of Schalchlin goodness!

The last "extra day" we were gifted before my treatment began, we decided to go to church with one of my cello students so we could hear him help lead worship on his cello. His family came over after church. We enjoyed good food and introduced them to a rousing game of Carcasonne.

Medical Update

 

Last week was a whirlwind of tests and surgeries.

And ice.

I'm so thankful for the medical personnel and the technology that helped my MUGA, PET, MRI, lymph node dissection, and port placement go as smoothly as possible

I'm also grateful that Aaron can work from just about anywhere. This was 6:30 a.m. in the waiting room.

We've enjoyed some extra time to chat as we've driven back and forth to Little Rock or North Little Rock several times. We've even noticed that each of the CARTI offices is located near a Barnes and Noble, and we often have gift cards.

Chemo will begin next week, allowing Aaron to work remotely with the translation team for some advisor checking this week. God's timing is always perfect!