Last Chemo Treatment May 2024

"When we realize that the development of secure attachment includes the activation and mobilization of healthy, dynamic empathy...we offer our attuned presence to someone else who is in distress, and their attunement to our attunement - our collective withness - is the most effective interpersonal, neurobiological regulator." 

~Curt Thompson, "The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope"

The last day all of our young adults were home, Aaron dropped me off at CARTI for my final chemo treatment. I didn't have to take a family picture this time, because my biggest cheerleaders would be arriving as the last few drops made their way into my body.

What I DID take was a massive strawberry trifle as a thank you. We made three angel food cakes with our favorite farmer's egg whites, vanilla pudding with the egg yolks, and we used the last of the local strawberries we had been saving for this very occasion. I knew of no better way to somehow voice appreciation for the many people at CARTI who serve the cancer community.

As the last milliliter flowed through the machine and into me, I snapped a picture and texted the family chat that it was finally time to celebrate.

The nurses, who have admired my picture for an entire year, finally got to meet my amazing team of "collective withness" who have carried me through rough times and brought me much joy.

My parents came, too! 

When we returned home, I had one last surprise in store: silly string I found on the sale rack at the grocery store. A fitting way to celebrate this stage of the journey.

 

Floating the White River May 2024

My birthday celebrations extended into Memorial Day when our whole crew went floating on the White River. We discovered that this river, and the Anglers White River Resort, was a cheaper, colder, and deeper alternative to floating the Buffalo or the Kings rivers which we've tried before.

We keep adding people to our family, so we have to take multiple cars now :)

The day was sunny with brilliant blue skies,

and the White River was beautiful and different than anything we had previously floated.

We rented a sturdy raft, a kayak, and a canoe

and frequently changed buddies in each watercraft.

We paused for a picnic on some flat rocks,

and the adventurers decided to jump into the cold water.

At one point, the river (which was running higher than normal) split into two streams,

we took the right fork and found an old dried up waterfall.

We pulled the vehicles up on shore and did some exploring. Benjamin unfortunately found stinging nettles, but otherwise the trek up the dry creek was uneventful.

 

After we began to paddle again, we heard rushing water. Hannah and I were in the lead and couldn't see anything that might be making the noise, so we pulled over and watched the others cross a ford and go down a little unexpected drop. But my favorite part of the trip was when we pulled the boats together in the middle of the river with the Ozark's sandstone cliffs towering around us and sang the doxology. The sound reverberated off the rocks and throughout my heart as something I want to treasure forever.

50th Birthday May 2024

 Our 34th kiss-aversary was the day before my birthday. (Don't do the math, we were way too young to be kissing.) We like to celebrate every possible way as we remember what God has done in our lives.

 When our young adults arrived at our house, they found a table decorated with lipstick kisses and peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses interspersed with pictures of their parents.

Aaron asked how I wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday. In a strange turn of events, my introvert husband wanted a big weekend for his celebrations, but I just wanted all my kiddos at home.

We played games like Code Names 

and filled a pew on Sunday morning as we made our own little worship choir.

Sarah made her famous cheesecake, my ubiquitous request for birthday cake.

The love between siblings, even when they are grown, makes me laugh. 

I'm so grateful for this crew and their willingness to come spend time with us, despite the distance and the hassle.

Marriage Resources

Aaron and I are always looking for ways to strengthen our marriage. We've been friends for thirty-nine years, and we have a long history together. But we still have room for improvement :)

We found a cute little book: "The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages". Normally we stay away from resources that make relationships sound easy if you only follow this simple formula. But something about the brain science behind this book, coupled with its faith-based approach, caught my eye. So, we tried it!

The book is organized around four habits that form the acronym PLAN:

Play together

Listen for emotion

Appreciate daily

Nurture rhythm

We found the suggestions and exercises to be a helpful springboard for our marriage and have added this book to our "marriage toolbox".

Sweet Sabbath

"A regular Sabbath means having enough rest often enough that it affects (and infects) the days around it. I'm not just breaking from work; I'm intentionally touching base with God, the Source of my Belovedness, so that I can learn to see and experience that same sense of wholeness in the entirety of my life.

Finding joy and life in my everyday begins with being able to recognize joy and life to begin with. The regularity of a weekly Sabbath trains my eye to see that way right where I am."

~Justin McRoberts, "Sacred Strides: The Journey to Belovedness in Work and Rest"

Several years ago, I bought these lilly bulbs late in the season at a huge discount. They continue to bring me joy and life every summer.

 

Mother's Day and Grandma's Birthday

"We gather to celebrate,

and to give thanks that their life and days

are woven with ours, that we might share

the joys and burdens of life together,

delighting in the ways your glory is reflected

in the unrepeatable gift of their being."

~Douglas McKelvey, "Every Moment Holy"

May provided multiple opportunities to celebrate with Grandma. For Mother's Day, we utilized the bounty of local strawberries and made a strawberry trifle to share.

In May, we also celebrated Grandma's 93rd birthday,

and delighted in the "unrepeatable gift" of her being.

 

Orchestra Banquet

At the end of the school year, the orchestra gives awards and recognizes the seniors at a dessert banquet. This gathering is one of my favorite events of the year.

I know I sound like a broken record, but watching these orch dorks grow over the span of seven years is miraculous. Best part of the job, hands down.

Even though I was only working with the students part time, they still honored me with gifts. A hand made clay mini me

 and socks with pictures of the 2024 seniors. Gonna miss these guys!

Summer Salads

With the farmers market open once again, the meal plan began to fill up with beautiful and delicious salads. I'm so grateful for the local farmers who work so hard to produce beautiful, delicious, and healthy food to share.

Curried Lentil Chickpea Salad with Citrus Dressing made a lovely meal on the porch.

This strawberry spinach salad with some local chicken from Shaky K Farm made good use of strawberries from the Cabot Patch (but no jammy egg for me, thanks!). Instead of the poppy seed dressing we used this strawberry vinaigrette.

Leftover beef roast (thanks, Flying C Ranch!) from Sunday lunch paired perfectly with the roasted sweet potato and brussel sprout salad with cinnamon balsamic dressing.

This southwest chopped chicken salad helped us finish up last year's corn in the freezer.

Most of the leafy greens in these salads came from Twin Creek Farm, and they also provided the beautiful rainbow carrots for the roasted carrot spinach salad with lemon herb dressing. Pork chops from Shaky K Farm filled out the plate nicely.

May Days 2024

 The last Arkansas Symphony Masterworks concert of the season was a special one, so we got all gussied up and made a date. Our cello teacher, Rafael, was performing in his final concert after forty years.

Rafael was a big part of our story, he came to our recipe wedding shower, and we still have the recipe for guacamole that he gave us :) We just wanted him to know that we appreciated the many years he has served Arkansas as a teacher and a musician and that he had impacted and shaped our lives.

May also brought the state championship soccer games. 

For the third year in a row, our alma mater was vying for the title. 

One of the orchestra students was on the team, and so was one of the young men from church, so I went to cheer on the Wampus Cats.

I wasn't the only orch dork in the stands! So many of the musicians showed up to root for the men's soccer team.

And they won!

May brought more walks with my mom and her sweet dog, Roxie, just before we had to say goodbye to our furry friend because of illness.

We participated in the food drive "Stamp Out Hunger" sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. This is something we have enjoyed doing for many years.

I went to my last chemo treatment with a family photograph. The next treatment would be the last one, and my biggest cheerleaders would be by my side!