MY HEART IS ABSOLUTELY BROKEN FOR MY FRIEND GERT~

I was not going to post for a while

but God had other plans in mind for today.

My blogging friend, Gert,

lost her precious husband, Tom, yesterday.

He has left earth for his

HEAVENLY HOME.

This is the picture Gert posted

on her blog last night.

The name of her blog is

Gert, Tom & Rusty Too.

Rusty is their dog

who doesn't understand that 

Dad is gone.

Late last fall Tom, 

got ill and was hospitalized.

He has always been such a strong man~

Everyone thought he would have surgery

and then be okay.

Gert, as many of you know,

has MS and Tom was such a great,

 loving husband, friend,

and earthly caretaker.

Theirs was a marriage of love and devotion

that made others envious.

Sadly, Tom's big, generous heart

quit beating yesterday.

He got so tired 

that the Lord took him home.

While he is beyond all 

pain and suffering now,

Gert and Rusty are left on their own

to cope with this heartbreaking loss.

PLEASE LIFT 

Gert in prayer today

and in the upcoming days.

You can pop by

HER BLOG HERE

and leave her a message.

It may help ease her pain just a bit

to know how much she is loved.

Rest In Peace, Tom.

We will see you

OVER THERE!

Thank you all so much.

Tomorrow is the fast for John's health

you can read about that here and here.

Please attach Gert's name to that fast.

Love you Gert!

Love all of YOU blogging friends, too!

FEBRUARY 1ST- FASTING For Faith and Healing

You know I have never

had any trouble asking for prayers for others.

However, it is not in my nature to ask

for anything for myself.

I just have a hard time doing that.

A wonderful blogger,
who wanted to remain anonymous
until I put the squeeze on her because
of the great post she wrote about fasting,
Deb-Frugal Little Bungalow

put a call out for a day of fasting on 

behalf of my husband and myself

to take place on Monday - February 1st.
She explained all the different ways to fast.
For some it might be as simple as
skipping one meal that day-
or giving up snacks you would usually have.
You can read the wonderful post
she wrote about fasting here.

Now, those that know me well

know that 

FASTING IS NOT 

part of my vocabulary.

I think fasting is waiting 10 minutes

after my meal

to eat a bowl of ice cream.

Yep- that's me!

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However, I am going to join

that wonderful blogger and 

those that have agreed to fast for us, too.

I will fast and pray for my hubby's health 

and continued strength as he fights this battle.

Fasting is different things for different people.

I am going to choose a modified fast-

SUN UP to SUN DOWN

on Monday, February 1st!

So glad for these short winter days-whew!

Because I get up very early
I am going to eat an early breakfast
and drink clear fluids all day-
Clear fluids for me are water,
with or without lemon or lime,
and clear chicken broth.

IF you care to join us - please do so.

If it is not something you are comfortable with-
or you have a medical condition or-
you take food with medications...

just wing a little prayer up for us instead.

Bless all of you.

We are so thankful for those that leave us

comments and well-wishes and 

pray on our behalf

and send us their love.

You all are just

THE BEST!

THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU-

For those of you that choose to fast on Monday-

I'll send you an apple pie Tuesday.
I mighta lied about the pie......

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I will put up a reminder on Sunday sometime.

CUTENESS Might Be The Cure!

Even in the midst of illness

there are many things 

to make us smile.

Our youngest granddaughter 

is such a 

BRIGHT SPOT 

in our lives.

We had a special event the 

first week in January

that I will share a bit later.

Little Miss

BRIGHT EYES

was dressed for the occasion.

The photographer

Alyssa, Witteaphotography

 said our little

Anna Ireland (Bright Eyes)

got on the "stage" 

with no prompting 

and proceeded to ham it up.

Here are just a few of the many pictures

she took.

HERE I COME!

TAH-DAH!

What? What?

Sure I can dance!

What? What?

You want to see me 

SPIN?

Okay- Here I go!

HEY!  Even the

BEST DANCERS

fall down sometimes.

Just ask my Nana-

She's fallen on her butt 

a few times but you won't

be seeing any pictures of that here!

Okay- That's all the cuteness

I can pack into one post!

We have a long day yesterday.

We were at the cancer center for about 

SEVEN HOURS-

Chemo, radiation, Dr. appointments

and assessments.

Thinking of this cute little face  

kept us smiling all day!

Hope YOU ALL have a great week
with lots of smiles thrown in for good measure!

GOOD MORNING from The Caring Bridge for John Kosmoski

I set up a website at 

THE CARING BRIDGE

for 

JOHN KOSMOSKI

By clicking on the link above or

HERE

it will take you right to the website.

The Caring Bridge asked for my contact list.

I gave them the whole thing so if you

get more than one notice

please don't send me hate mail.

You know me and 

TECHY stuff!

I barely know what I am doing

all the way around -life included.

Today is the first day of 

John's treatment.

Four hours of strong chemo

AND

radiation.

I will keep you all posted.

Thank you so much for your 

prayers and support.

I will try to keep a daily post 

(or every other day)

on 

The Caring Bridge.

You can catch up there whenever you have time.

I think you have to sign in to 

access the site but it is safe to do that.

I have followed several

"journeys" that way.

We are off and running!

Wish us luck!

ps----MyHero is still 

"napping" with his little buddy

but I will haul him out of here soon!

The Cancer Carousel- Round and Round We Go. Update #3

I just want to keep you all updated.

Please do not feel you have to 

leave me comments.

You are more than welcome to do that 

but if you just want to come and read

that is perfectly okay.

I know EVERYONE is busy-

especially after the beginning of a 

NEW YEAR!

I just know y'all are dieting and exercising

and taking piano lessons 

and learning to paint and...

OH-WAIT!

That was LAST WEEK!

Now it is time for the 

REAL NEW YEAR 

to kick in!

So- I have discovered that  this journey

into cancer is like being on a 

CAROUSEL!

The Cancer Carousel!

image

You go round and round and round-

sometimes feeling dizzy from all

the information thrown at you-

sometimes feeling a bit disoriented

after all the procedures needed 

for effective treatment.

Here's where we are on

The Cancer Carousel..

image

We are on the innermost horses

trying to work our way out to the outer edge

so we can hop off this 

Merry-go-round.

As of yesterday, MyHero, John

had a feeding tube put in

(yes-that is a good thing)

and a port for chemo/blood work

and they did a few more biopsies on his throat.

Close your eyes here if you are squeamish.

I OFFERED 

to rig up a feeding

tube for him.

I found a great one on eBay

but he didn't seem too excited about it

so I let it go.

I think it is still available in case

you have someone that is not

quite as fussy about those things as

MyHero is!

image

They are trying to find the primary source

of the cancer-thus the other biopsies.

IF they can pinpoint that,

the area of radiation will be smaller-

smaller area-less damage.

Starting a week from Monday

he will have 37 days of radiation in a row

(weekends off)

Every Monday he will have chemo.

On the days he feels he can do so

he will go for physical therapy for

mild strength training.

The Cancer Carousel 

continues to turn

and we are just waiting to grab the 

GOLD RECOVERY RING

at the end.

image

It will be worth the ride

at the end!

Thank you ALL for your continued

prayers and support.

You're the best!

Love you guys!