What a wonderful first Christmas with our precious granddaughter. She's 5 months old and just got her first tooth the day before Christmas!
Jim took J-Me and JC to a portrait studio on the 23rd for them to have a surprise portrait made for JRson. She gave us several different sizes of the different poses. They're wonderful. I need to have them framed and hung.
We went to J-Me's in-laws for Christmas dinner. It was fabulous -- lots and lots of food and desserts. After dinner, we relaxed awhile, then more family came over and we had 2 tables of cards going on: Onze (spelling?? Supposed to be French for "eleven"). I'm not a card player, but I definitely enjoyed this game.
Jim and I went shopping on Friday to Stein Mart ... hit their post-Christmas sale. I got a BUNCH of new clothes (jackets, pants, tops) for $79!! His bill came to almost $300 -- none of his stuff was on sale! Go figure! Then we went back on Saturday because when we returned home, I checked my emails and discovered Stein Mart had sent me an email with their class action lawsuit discount on purchases. Everything was "returned" and repurchased = savings of $60!! Definitely worth the trip back. Normally, Jim would have told me I'd waste more $$ driving back and going through the hassle of returning items, but he had to agree, $60 is $60. What irritated me is that I'd never gotten the email before even though this discount began November 3rd. Oh well, it's done now!
The group cruise I've got booked for January 25th had suffered 2 cancellations...one client is in cardiac intensive care, the other client cancelled due to declining health of her mother-in-law. For now I've released one cabin back to RCCLs inventory, but the other cabin I'm holding on to for a couple days desperately trying to find someone who could go with us. I have to give up this price -- it's $700 below RCCLs price: $1328.26 for 2 people and then a $50 onboard ship credit from me. That's $91 per person per day (7 days) for all the food, fun & entertainment you can stand!! Pass the word -- but let me know ASAP -- I can't hold onto this much longer.
Love to all,
LeAnne
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Surgery's Scheduled AND Happy Thanksgiving!
Dr. Miles' nurse called on Monday. We've decided on February 3, 2009 at 8 a.m. for surgery. Jim will go in on January 20th for his pre-op workup (EKG, lab, chest x-ray, etc) at 9 a.m. She said he'd be there until 2 p.m. Lordy!! That's a LOOOooooong time!
We cancelled MDA's appointment -- the young man I spoke with asked me if we just couldn't make it on time...I told him that we'd decided on a BCM doctor. He was alright with that. I hated to have called to cancel on the day of the appointment, but couldn't help that. We didn't want to cancel before we saw Dr. Miles just in case he wasn't our choice. It was a little difficult to get an appointment at MDA to begin with and we didn't want to burn our bridges.
We babysat Saturday while J&J went out to dinner and did a little Christmas shopping.
Then we came back on Monday & Tuesday to babysit while J&J worked. J-Me only had to work 2 days but would have had to pay for a whole week of babysitting. So we helped them out.
On Monday, we took J-C with us to the railroad credit union to show her off. Whoa! She doesn't like strangers!! One of the ladies Jim used to work with wanted to hold her & when I put J-C in her arms, she frowned then started crying. As soon as I took her, she stopped (made me feel good!). When we got back to J&J's house, J-Me fixed a wonderful pork chop dinner (I want the recipe!). I stayed overnight, and Jim drove home.
Jim had an early Tuesday morning appointment back at the Medical Center for an eye exam and then wanted to go to the VA Admin. regional office for business stuff. After that, he went to his brother's to loan him a grinder (Hurricane Ike bent his metal fence posts). Then he came back to J&J's later that afternoon. J-C had her 4-month check-up and immunizations at 4 p.m. Her daddy came home early to take her -- mommy was already at the doctor's office waiting on them.
** Our baby girl weighs 13 pounds now and is 23 inches long. She's in the 50th percentile for her weight and 25th percentile for her height/length.
J-C and I played all day on Tuesday (before her daddy came to take her to the doctor) -- we had so much fun. I found another way to make her giggle: when I gently blow on her face, she gasps (sucking air in), then laughs! She'll also take her pacifier out of her mouth then try to put it back in. A few times she was successful. I love to watch her reach for something then transfer it to her other hand. She's such a cutie pie!
Tomorrow will be her first Thanksgiving. We'll all be at J-R-son's parent's house. It'll just be the 6 of us and J-C (his sister & her family will be with her husband's family for Thanksgiving).
Happy Thanksgiving to all from us!!
AND good luck & happy hunting to those of you who are heading out in the wee hours of the morning on Friday to shop!! I'll be dreaming of sugarplums instead.
We cancelled MDA's appointment -- the young man I spoke with asked me if we just couldn't make it on time...I told him that we'd decided on a BCM doctor. He was alright with that. I hated to have called to cancel on the day of the appointment, but couldn't help that. We didn't want to cancel before we saw Dr. Miles just in case he wasn't our choice. It was a little difficult to get an appointment at MDA to begin with and we didn't want to burn our bridges.
We babysat Saturday while J&J went out to dinner and did a little Christmas shopping.
Then we came back on Monday & Tuesday to babysit while J&J worked. J-Me only had to work 2 days but would have had to pay for a whole week of babysitting. So we helped them out.
On Monday, we took J-C with us to the railroad credit union to show her off. Whoa! She doesn't like strangers!! One of the ladies Jim used to work with wanted to hold her & when I put J-C in her arms, she frowned then started crying. As soon as I took her, she stopped (made me feel good!). When we got back to J&J's house, J-Me fixed a wonderful pork chop dinner (I want the recipe!). I stayed overnight, and Jim drove home.
Jim had an early Tuesday morning appointment back at the Medical Center for an eye exam and then wanted to go to the VA Admin. regional office for business stuff. After that, he went to his brother's to loan him a grinder (Hurricane Ike bent his metal fence posts). Then he came back to J&J's later that afternoon. J-C had her 4-month check-up and immunizations at 4 p.m. Her daddy came home early to take her -- mommy was already at the doctor's office waiting on them.
** Our baby girl weighs 13 pounds now and is 23 inches long. She's in the 50th percentile for her weight and 25th percentile for her height/length.
J-C and I played all day on Tuesday (before her daddy came to take her to the doctor) -- we had so much fun. I found another way to make her giggle: when I gently blow on her face, she gasps (sucking air in), then laughs! She'll also take her pacifier out of her mouth then try to put it back in. A few times she was successful. I love to watch her reach for something then transfer it to her other hand. She's such a cutie pie!
Tomorrow will be her first Thanksgiving. We'll all be at J-R-son's parent's house. It'll just be the 6 of us and J-C (his sister & her family will be with her husband's family for Thanksgiving).
Happy Thanksgiving to all from us!!
AND good luck & happy hunting to those of you who are heading out in the wee hours of the morning on Friday to shop!! I'll be dreaming of sugarplums instead.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Update on Jim
We went to the Baylor College of Medicine doctor (Professor of Urology at BCM) on Saturday, Dr. Miles. [He was actually supposed to be our second opinion, but this appointment came before the Monday's MDAnderson appt.]
We like him a LOT, and are going to cancel tomorrow's MDA appt. Dr. Miles spent an hour with us, explaining the different modalities, what Jim's a candidate for & what he's not as well as why not (Jim's too young for radiation, seed implants, & cryosurgery), the percentages of side effects & long-term side effects associated with each different procedure (cryo is the most damaging with major side effects later on), etc. He was very thorough -- drew pictures & charts for us, too. He even showed us exactly where in the prostate the cancer is & explained the Gleason scoring and staging to us and the options associated with those scores. He said he sees no reason why he couldn't save both of the nerves that are involved with prostate. Of course, once he gets in there, that might change. He also said that about 6 to 8 weeks after surgery his patients are usually "dry" (meaning the incontinence problem is over). He said if after 6-months post-op the patient isn't dry, then he goes back in and does either a sling or bladder suspension to alleviate the incontinence problem.
Jim also told him about our January cruise and asked if he should have surgery before or after the cruise. Dr. Miles said he promised the cancer would be going nowhere else and to wait until after the cruise. He said there would be internal bruising and wants that to reabsorb into the body before traveling a long distance, and also said it wouldn't be very pleasant to be on a shore excursion and trying to find a bathroom immediately. Dr. Miles told us to enjoy our cruise, drink some wine, and Jim could have surgery the week we return.
When we left, we felt really good about this doctor and made the decision to not go to MDAnderson at all. Under any other circumstances, we wouldn't hesitate to go there. More of a concern is WHO we'll get as a doctor at MDA -- Jim's urologist recommeneded a Dr. Matin, but that doesn't mean we'll get him. So rather than taking a "toss of the coin" approach, we'd rather have the doctor we feel confident in and who came highly recommended by 3 people who had this surgery by him.
We're calling Dr. Miles' surgical nurse on Tuesday to set up the surgical date. When we have a definite date, we'll let everyone know. In the meantime, keep Jim in your prayers -- and many, many thanks to everyone for praying for him!! We appreciate this so much.
I'll keep my blog updated with his news, too. Promise!! ;-)
Love to all,
LeAnne and Jim
P.S. Our grandaughter is growing like a weed!! She's found her voice and likes to hollar. Lordy is she loud! Jim and I will be babysitting Monday and Tuesday while mommy & daddy work those 2 days, to help them out (they'd have to pay for a whole week of daycare even though she'd only be there 2 days). We get to take her to her 4-month checkup on Tuesday afternoon. I'm really curious as to how much she weighs. I'm guessing 14-15 lbs. I'll add some photos on Tuesday. Ciao!!
We like him a LOT, and are going to cancel tomorrow's MDA appt. Dr. Miles spent an hour with us, explaining the different modalities, what Jim's a candidate for & what he's not as well as why not (Jim's too young for radiation, seed implants, & cryosurgery), the percentages of side effects & long-term side effects associated with each different procedure (cryo is the most damaging with major side effects later on), etc. He was very thorough -- drew pictures & charts for us, too. He even showed us exactly where in the prostate the cancer is & explained the Gleason scoring and staging to us and the options associated with those scores. He said he sees no reason why he couldn't save both of the nerves that are involved with prostate. Of course, once he gets in there, that might change. He also said that about 6 to 8 weeks after surgery his patients are usually "dry" (meaning the incontinence problem is over). He said if after 6-months post-op the patient isn't dry, then he goes back in and does either a sling or bladder suspension to alleviate the incontinence problem.
Jim also told him about our January cruise and asked if he should have surgery before or after the cruise. Dr. Miles said he promised the cancer would be going nowhere else and to wait until after the cruise. He said there would be internal bruising and wants that to reabsorb into the body before traveling a long distance, and also said it wouldn't be very pleasant to be on a shore excursion and trying to find a bathroom immediately. Dr. Miles told us to enjoy our cruise, drink some wine, and Jim could have surgery the week we return.
When we left, we felt really good about this doctor and made the decision to not go to MDAnderson at all. Under any other circumstances, we wouldn't hesitate to go there. More of a concern is WHO we'll get as a doctor at MDA -- Jim's urologist recommeneded a Dr. Matin, but that doesn't mean we'll get him. So rather than taking a "toss of the coin" approach, we'd rather have the doctor we feel confident in and who came highly recommended by 3 people who had this surgery by him.
We're calling Dr. Miles' surgical nurse on Tuesday to set up the surgical date. When we have a definite date, we'll let everyone know. In the meantime, keep Jim in your prayers -- and many, many thanks to everyone for praying for him!! We appreciate this so much.
I'll keep my blog updated with his news, too. Promise!! ;-)
Love to all,
LeAnne and Jim
P.S. Our grandaughter is growing like a weed!! She's found her voice and likes to hollar. Lordy is she loud! Jim and I will be babysitting Monday and Tuesday while mommy & daddy work those 2 days, to help them out (they'd have to pay for a whole week of daycare even though she'd only be there 2 days). We get to take her to her 4-month checkup on Tuesday afternoon. I'm really curious as to how much she weighs. I'm guessing 14-15 lbs. I'll add some photos on Tuesday. Ciao!!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Appointment set...
Jim's doctor appoint at MDA is November 24th at 4 p.m. He's supposed to be there at 3 p.m. for paperwork. He called the other doctor's office and left a message for the receptionist to call him back to schedule an appointment, but that never transpired. He'll call on Monday again...he wants 2 opinions.
Thanks to all who've emailed their thoughts, prayers, and offers of help to us. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.
Jim's mom turned 89 today. We're going to H-town to celebrate her birthday with his brother & sister and their spouses.
And when we get home, Ann will be here. The 3 of us are doing a ship inspection on Sunday morning, having lunch onboard ship, and then home in the afternoon. Jim wants to see how things are progressing since Hurricane Ike.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!
Thanks to all who've emailed their thoughts, prayers, and offers of help to us. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.
Jim's mom turned 89 today. We're going to H-town to celebrate her birthday with his brother & sister and their spouses.
And when we get home, Ann will be here. The 3 of us are doing a ship inspection on Sunday morning, having lunch onboard ship, and then home in the afternoon. Jim wants to see how things are progressing since Hurricane Ike.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I'm BAAAAAAAACK!!!
Sorry to have been GONE so LONG!
We've been babysitting off-and-on. This is so much fun and special! It's amazing to see the baby grow from week to week. She's discovered her voice and is giggling and laughing now. We haven't had the pleasure of really hearing her laugh like J&J say she does. She gets prettier every time we see her. I love that she's discovered her toes/feet. She raises them up over her tummy and grabs her toes!! She's SOOOooooo cute!!!
My travel agency has finally taken off! I've got lots of vacations booked and two group cruises booked (Royal Caribbean and Carnival). The Royal Caribbean booking just keeps growing and growing. We started with 5 cabins at the end of September and as of yesterday, added the 28th cabin!! I'm really happy that the advertising and word-of-mouth is working.
Ann and Gary came on Sunday and stayed until yesterday. Ann and I went to a travel trade show in H-town Monday night. Lordy, was the food delicious!! It was a sit-down plated dinner with flowing wines & champagne. Ann will come back on Saturday so that she can go with Jim and I to a Carnival ship inspection on Sunday. We'll have lunch onboard ship. I want her to see Carnival's ship so that she'll have something to compare our RCCL ship with. It also helps to see and experience what you're trying to sell.
And now for the "not so good" news:
Jim was diagnosed 10 days ago with prostate Cancer (biopsy 2 weeks ago).
We had a 1 hour doctor appointment on Tuesday for our "options."
The doctor recommended a robotic prostatectomy rather than the traditional abdominal surgery: less blood loss, less catheter time, less hosp. time, faster recovery, less pain. We're all for that!! Jim's cancer is a stage T1C, with a Gleason score of 6's and two are 7's. His cancer has put him at an intermediate risk (not high and not low -- just right in the middle).
Tonight, Jim spoke with a friend from our "old" church in H-town who had this type of surgery a year ago. He raved about it & the doctor.
Jim is now talking about going to this doctor for a second opinion, then he'll make a decision as to who gets to do surgery. We're hoping that wherever/whoever does it, it'll either be real soon so he can recover and go on our group cruise at the end of January, OR if not, he'll postpone surgery until after we get back on Feb. 1st. The urologist said he could wait 'til then. He said possibly the surgeon would want to give him 1 hormone injection to stop the cancer growth temporarily.
We'll let everyone know what happens as soon as we know something.
Please keep Jim in your prayers. Prayers are powerful and work. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughts, prayers and offers of help.
Love to all, LeAnne and Jim
We've been babysitting off-and-on. This is so much fun and special! It's amazing to see the baby grow from week to week. She's discovered her voice and is giggling and laughing now. We haven't had the pleasure of really hearing her laugh like J&J say she does. She gets prettier every time we see her. I love that she's discovered her toes/feet. She raises them up over her tummy and grabs her toes!! She's SOOOooooo cute!!!
My travel agency has finally taken off! I've got lots of vacations booked and two group cruises booked (Royal Caribbean and Carnival). The Royal Caribbean booking just keeps growing and growing. We started with 5 cabins at the end of September and as of yesterday, added the 28th cabin!! I'm really happy that the advertising and word-of-mouth is working.
Ann and Gary came on Sunday and stayed until yesterday. Ann and I went to a travel trade show in H-town Monday night. Lordy, was the food delicious!! It was a sit-down plated dinner with flowing wines & champagne. Ann will come back on Saturday so that she can go with Jim and I to a Carnival ship inspection on Sunday. We'll have lunch onboard ship. I want her to see Carnival's ship so that she'll have something to compare our RCCL ship with. It also helps to see and experience what you're trying to sell.
And now for the "not so good" news:
Jim was diagnosed 10 days ago with prostate Cancer (biopsy 2 weeks ago).
We had a 1 hour doctor appointment on Tuesday for our "options."
The doctor recommended a robotic prostatectomy rather than the traditional abdominal surgery: less blood loss, less catheter time, less hosp. time, faster recovery, less pain. We're all for that!! Jim's cancer is a stage T1C, with a Gleason score of 6's and two are 7's. His cancer has put him at an intermediate risk (not high and not low -- just right in the middle).
Tonight, Jim spoke with a friend from our "old" church in H-town who had this type of surgery a year ago. He raved about it & the doctor.
Jim is now talking about going to this doctor for a second opinion, then he'll make a decision as to who gets to do surgery. We're hoping that wherever/whoever does it, it'll either be real soon so he can recover and go on our group cruise at the end of January, OR if not, he'll postpone surgery until after we get back on Feb. 1st. The urologist said he could wait 'til then. He said possibly the surgeon would want to give him 1 hormone injection to stop the cancer growth temporarily.
We'll let everyone know what happens as soon as we know something.
Please keep Jim in your prayers. Prayers are powerful and work. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughts, prayers and offers of help.
Love to all, LeAnne and Jim
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Hurricane Visitors
Our good friends, Ted and Donna, had to evacuate The Woodlands due to no electricity. They came to Red Oak Ranch in their RV on Tuesday. They came over yesterday, and we sat around and got caught up on news. Then we went out to eat at a wine bar that has authentic German food. It was pretty good (or at least mine was: Huhn Paprikish).
We came back to our house and watched TV and chatted awhile. Donna and I surfed my cruise agent booking engine for a cruise that she's already booked on. If I become a Commodore with the cruiseline, then I qualify for a reduced rate. So Donna thinks I need to go to school and graduate!!
And guess what? That's exactly what I've been doing ALL DAY today!! There are SO many courses to take -- sheesh!! And every one of them is a minimum of 30 minutes with a maximum of 55 minutes...and it ain't easy!! I have to take a LOT of notes just to pass the 20 question tests (I feel like I've wasted so much paper today!).
Donna, I'm trying!!!
We came back to our house and watched TV and chatted awhile. Donna and I surfed my cruise agent booking engine for a cruise that she's already booked on. If I become a Commodore with the cruiseline, then I qualify for a reduced rate. So Donna thinks I need to go to school and graduate!!
And guess what? That's exactly what I've been doing ALL DAY today!! There are SO many courses to take -- sheesh!! And every one of them is a minimum of 30 minutes with a maximum of 55 minutes...and it ain't easy!! I have to take a LOT of notes just to pass the 20 question tests (I feel like I've wasted so much paper today!).
Donna, I'm trying!!!
War Zone!!
Here's a great British news article about what it's like here in the Houston area.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1055660/After-storm-Floating-coffins-prowling-alligators-amid-Hurricane-Ikes-7bn-trail-destruction.html
Our local newsreporters that are in the "war zone" are reporting LOTS of alligators and snakes!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1055660/After-storm-Floating-coffins-prowling-alligators-amid-Hurricane-Ikes-7bn-trail-destruction.html
Our local newsreporters that are in the "war zone" are reporting LOTS of alligators and snakes!!
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