Hello all,
Sorry it's been a while since our last update, things have been super busy for us. Last week, Tara's Dad, Eddie was in town visiting for a couple of days. It was amazing having him here to share our lives with. I guess no matter how old you get, your parents are always going to worry about you and want to know you're okay. It was exciting for us to show him our home, our town, our workplaces, and the amazing amenities that are within a days drive. While he was in town we visited Pike Place Market (twice), Mount Rainier, Tacoma, and Olympia. We dined at the cheese fest, took him to our favorite sushi place, took a duck ride around the city, enjoyed the beach, and 20 feet of snow all within 4 days - crazy Northwest weather :)
Jumping shift, I am so so excited to share with you all my running experience and how God has grown me over the last couple of months. He works in all things and I am daily reminded of His plan, His unconditional love, His constant presence, and His sacrifice...Please note that none of my running was on my own accord. I could not have run one mile without the strength of God and the encouragement of others pushing me to push myself.
One of the main reasons my Dad came to visit was to be present for the Half Marathon myself and three co-workers were running in on Sunday, May 15th. I don't think my Dad knew how big of a deal it was for me to have him here for this event - He never will.
I have been training to run a half marathon since I lived in Knoxville back in 2007. When I mentioned my desire to run one at work, two of my co-workers said they were also interested, so we found one in Olympia and started training for it. Initially, we were going to run because one of the ladies was turning 40 the week of the race and we wanted to support her. Then my sister-in-law Angie was diagnosed with cancer and our whole drive changed. As soon as I found out about Angie's cancer returning she became my motivation, my drive. I used images, conversations, and memories of my time with her to run every single day whether I felt like it or not. Some days I focused of Jonah, some days I thought more about Kora, other days I thought about Scott, and other days my in-laws. Each and every second of my run was focused on them, what they were going through, and how being pushed beyond my comfort zone physically was nothing compared to what they were experiencing back home.
Several weeks before our race I was filling my two co-workers in on Angie's progress. They both told me that day that they wanted to run the half marathon in honor of Angie. I was floored and absolutely humbled. We took off from there with t-shirts and outfits that would let everyone at the race that day know what we were running for, and this is what we came up with...
If you can't read the small print, on the left it says, "Diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2004 at age 27" and on the right it says, "Diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2011 at age 34."
I am getting emotional typing this next part...I cannot even begin to describe how emotional this entire experience was and I am elated to share with you how God worked. At the start line we were all lined up and some ladies behind us commented on our shirts and said if Angie could go through all that she has, everyone there that day could finish this race. As soon as the buzzer sounded we were off and we were pumped! Let me preface that there were an insane number of people spread out the entire 13 miles cheering the runners on, which I had not expected. Over the first two miles we all got separated as we all run at various paces. There were several times in this first couple of miles when someone would tap me and give me a thumbs up or a "I like your shirt" as they passed by.
Around mile 3 my ipod started sounding funny - blurred, muffled, and quiet - "CRAP!" I thought. Seriously? I can't run this without music. Right at the 4 mile marker, it was completely gone, not working, nothing. Great! I fumed for about half a mile...furious, frustrated, and so disheartened. 9 more miles without music?? Grrr! Just about that time, I noticed some ladies standing in a driveway, thanking us and encouraging us. Right past the driveway there were miniature American flags staked in the ground about a foot apart with a piece of paper attached to each. The paper had a military member's name on it with a date of death. I had heard about these women a couple of weeks before. They run in memory of the fallen soldiers and husbands every Saturday. Here is a link about them -
http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/03/03/9662/runners-honor-the-fallen.htmlI don't think I can put into words how inspirational that was for me. About a half a mile later I was running upon this lady who had a shirt on that read something to the effect of "If you were the only one, would you still run" and below this statement there was a Bible verse. I can't explain it, but I knew I was supposed to talk to her, so I tapped her on the shoulder and told her I liked her shirt. She returned the compliment and we started talking. Over the course of 6 miles we talked about our lives, our families, running, and I was able to share with her about Angie. Her name is Susie, she is from the Rainier, WA, area and she is a brand new grandma. She was running to raise money for children she supports in Africa. I cannot begin to tell you what an encouragement and blessing she was to me.
Throughout my time running with Susie people on the sidelines would scream, "Do it for Angie" "Remember what you're running for" "This is for Angie." Can we just let that sink in? People in Olympia, WA were yelling my
sister-in-law from WV's name at me. Encouraging me and reminding me why I was there in the first place. I welled up with tears several times, that is until I realized that running and crying left me no ability to breath, so I chose to run. And I ran harder every time someone said her name. That name pushed me. Her name made me smile. Her name made all of the pain in my cold and soaking wet body (it rained the entire race) fade.
I crossed the finish line after 2 hours and 26 minutes of running without stopping. I balled my eyes out! Finally, I could cry and breath at the same time :) Once everyone had crossed the finish line I asked the other two ladies who wore the "For Angie..." shirts if people had made comments to them? They said if anyone said anything they did not hear it because they had their ipods on the whole time...deep breath again. Really? I wanted to kick myself for even being upset at all that my ipod had died. Of course it did! I was supposed to talk to Susie. I was supposed to hear all of chants of Angie's name along the way. Duh!
I am still amazed at how God planned that day.
Now, for the most important part of the blog, an update from Angie :) But first a photo update, and can we just say how BEAUTIFUL she looks with her new do?
"Three weeks ago, I had my first chemotherapy and did great. Rested on day after, and slept the entire second day after (Friday). Just had some flu like symptoms and had to sleep them off.
I have been feeling okay since then. I have had no sickness or vomiting and my strength is sllooooowwwllyy coming back. I still just want to sleep all day. But they said my numbers (white blood cell counts indicating a susceptibility to infections) are down quite a bit...nothing in a danger zone. They just said they are down enough for me to wear a mask when I'm in a closed room...or Walmart. :)
I was able to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo with Kora's Pre-k class and had a great time. I rented a scooter for the day from a company in Pittsburgh that would both deliver and pick up the scooter when I needed...and I rode my rental scooter around like a champ!
Chemo #2 (every 3 weeks) was the 18th and I think I was a little more nervous over this one than I was the first time. I am just not sure how the body will react to having this poison accumulate into my body.
Additionally, I had an appointment with the leg doctor today to hopefully get cleared from using the walker and be able to go to just the crutch. There is still quite a bit of pain with that leg but it's manageable.
Most importantly, I am emotionally keeping my head up and keeping myself from sleeping 24/7, which is hard. It is easier to sleep all of the time, day and night, rather than face what is really going on...but friends and family help with that. You gotta keep your head up!"
Obviously, we need to update with the results of both of this week's appointments and treatments, so expect an additional update soon!
Love to all!
After the gravel was removed and the dirt was down:
The beautiful sod!
The finished product!!
Corner with garden - our favorite part
Close up of the garden. We're attempting to grow watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, banana peppers, chili peppers, jalapenos, bell peppers, pumpkin, and broccoli.
The entire yard
You can definitely tell what is sod based on the shade of green, but we don't care - we just love staring at grass!
View from the other side. No need to mention that Ty absolutely LOVES it!
