Donut Boy Brings Hoots, Hollers, and Cheers

Jack's chemo went well yesterday, his counts were at 1400, so he is keeping them up. He had a bit of a stomach virus this week, so I was glad to see that all was fine with his blood counts. Jack also had an appointment with the oncologist, Dr. Bowman, from Cook's Children's in Ft. Worth, he comes to Abilene once a month to check all the kids under his care for chemo. Dr. Bowman was happy that Jack seemed to be tolerating his treatments well. The only notable side effects besides the nausea were that Jack is definately losing some control of the muscles in his hands and feet, but mostly his hands. He has a hard time holding onto stuff without dropping it. Note to me, have Jack carry in the paper towels not the eggs from the grocery store. Jack doesn't notice his "clumsiness" at all, he just picks up whatever he has dropped and can do this 3 or 4 times in a row and doesn't even seem to notice that this is not normal. The area which affects schooling most is his handwriting, Dr. Bowman asked Jack how his penmanship was and Jack said, "great". Love that positive response! Between you and me his teacher had it o.k.'d to give Jack his spelling tests orally because many times his written words look as though he lives in China. Bless him.

Yesterday morning I was returning Jack to school after his appt. with Dr. Bowman and Jack had asked if we could stop by
AM Donuts and bring his class a treat. I am always happy to help Jack be excited about entering the classroom so I quickly said "Yes, great idea!" We walked in to his quiet classroom. The kids were focusing on the teacher at the front of the room, and they they turn their eyes to Jack and he says, "I've got donuts, for you (he points at his classmates) I brought plain glazed and for you and you (points at his two teachers) I brought maple". Then he sits down at his desk with a huge smile on his face. That smile was worth the $9 spent on 2 dozen donuts. The quiet obedient classroom became a room full of hoots, hollers, and cheers, hands in the air, it was like looking up at the fans from the sidelines of a football game. It was hilarious, although Jack did say the class had a hard time settling down after that, sorry Mrs. Ake and Ms. Isbell. When I picked Jack up from his class later that day to take him to chemo his friends were still grateful for the donuts and many of them thanked him again. What sweet kids.

We were blessed by having Rob's dad with us this week. We all love when he comes to Abilene, we had a great time and can't wait to see him again. This last weekend we went to Pirtle Pines Ranch in Milano, Tx for a family gathering. We had a great time, it was beautiful. Pirtle Pines is a deer lodge, but it is more of a real fancy home with a ton of rooms in it, like a bed and breakfast. It was a sweet time to be around family, my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins their families and Rob's mom Elaine went. There were about 25 or so, one of my favorite things was, my 86 yr, old grandmother whom we call Nana went on a hayride with us, she smiled so big I am sure her muscles were tired. I sat right across from her and got to see how she loved the ride. My Nana used to be very active, she was the best fisherwoman I have ever known. It wouldn't be unusual for her to be neck high in lake water trying to get her cast to the right spot. She could fix a meal for 20 people in less than 30 minutes and it might be the best meal they had ever eaten, she never stopped or slowed down. Her health has slowed her down and now she has been forced to watch others be busy around her while she wishes that she could be busy again too. She has parkinsons and diabetes, but the mind of a 20 yr. old. Very sharp. So to see her be lifted in her wheelchair onto the trailer for the hayride was a joy I will never forget. She smiled from start to finish. Thank you God for that. Many great times for everyone this weekend, horse rides, hay rides, jeep rides, Sunday morning worship, and ofcourse some serious fishing going on. We also saw some beautiful dear with large antlers, exquisite animals. Sunday morning we all gathered in the living area of the main house and worshipped God through songs of praise, old and new, took communion, and awesome prayers. Tears always flow for me during times of family worship. My heart is always so touched by the togetherness of my family who love God so. I am blessed to be in a heritage of lovers of the Lord. My grandfather's favorite song is How Great Thou Art, and we never gather together for worship without singing that. I love those old hymns, their is something very special about them, and they always bring tears. Tears of joy, longing, humility, gratefullness, and love for God. God blessed us all this weekend. Thank you Abba Father.
I will follow this post with some pictures of this weekend. Thank you for your prayers.
love, Tammy