The dulcimer is built by Modern Mountain Dulcimer. It has a redwood top, walnut back & sides, and spruce bottom soundboard, with an ebony fretboard. It is a real beauty! Thanks for the dulcimer and awesome case, and the flowers David!Saturday, Amber and I were hired to play music at God's Mountain Bible Camp's Fall festival near St. Joseph, MO. They had a hog roast and lots of fun activities, plus great music.
We played off and on throughout the afternoon. Then, in the evening, after dinner, Amber & I sat around on the porch and played tunes for a couple hours. It was so much fun to just sit and pick, no pressure. This morning, we played music at a church in Wathena, KS. It was wonderful to be in a Spirit-led church and to be able to share with the congregation. We were really blessed by the service. Special thanks to Johnny & Pam for inviting us to God's Mountain and the church service, and for your wonderful hospitality this weekend! Also thanks to Kent for being a wonderful driver and roadie, and to Duane for putting up with us and helping with the roadie duties.
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Earlier this week, I got my 3rd, and final haircut for a while. I finally gave up and let Dad cut it all off. He got out the dog clippers again, but this time, he took ALL my hair!
This was actually the easiest haircut for me. The first one was hard because it was preperatory. And it was something I never would have done if I wasn't going to lose it all. The second one was my desperate attempt to cling to what little hair I had left. By the time this one came around, I had accepted that I had very little hair left, and I was ready to be done messing with it. I did feel a bit lost the first time I took a shower though.
Thanks to all the Sterling guys who shaved their heads for me! You motivated me to bite the bullet and cut mine all off too. I can't tell you how thankful I am for your support. I'm really thankful for the support from all you. In your own way, each of you encourages me. For all the notes, cards, packages, phone calls, and visits, I am truly greatful. God is using you to help me. God continues to do awesome things in my life, even in the midst of the challenges I face each day. Praise Him!!
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( 3.1 / 54 )I am currently having technical difficulties with figuring out how to post pictures here. What that means is I am far too technically challenged to learn long-distance from my friend who designed the site. By next month, I'm hoping to get it figured out. Until then, you can take a look at some pictures
HERE. ~Enjoy Life~
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( 3 / 61 )Thursday thru Saturday after chemo #3 were really rough. I felt really lousy and I was in a bad mood. I was tired of being sick. I was lonely, but I didn't want to do anything or talk to anyone. I was tired of sitting around the house, but I didn't want to go anywhere. I was wallowing in self-pity and I felt justified in doing it. I didn't want to smile. I didn't care about anything. I think I was going through a bit of "Winfield Withdrawl" as well. I was missing the music and fellowship we had there. I hadn't been getting as many cards/notes/phone calls, and I was beginning to feel like people had forgotten about me and didn't really care. I knew that wasn't true, but I was having trouble convincing my heart of that.
Saturday night, I had a long talk with a good friend who encouraged me a lot. Then I went to bed and a good long time crying out to God. I wept tears of bitterness and anger, pain and sorrow. I let it all out, and God simply held me and encouraged me to get it out. Then, I had a vision of Jesus taking me by the hand and leading me into a garden-- a garden He had created just for me. I was wearing a white gown with yellow flowers in my hair. The garden was full of white and yellow flowers, and there was a stream through the middle of it. Jesus led me to a spot near the stream and we sat down on a blanket. We just sat there silently. I listened to the sounds of birds singing, the water trickling, and there was laughter-- not mine or His (I was still in too much pain to laugh), but it was there. I was filled with peace and joy. My spirit was renewed. Simply by being there, in His presence.
Sunday morning, I woke up feeling much better. God's mercies are new every morning-- what a wonderful promise! Since then, I have been doing much better. I have felt better physically, but also spiritually and emotionally. A poem from a dear sister in Christ; phone calls from Florida, Missouri, Colorado, and California; and notes from many people helped cheer me up. I found out that my dear, sweet, innocent Sister had something to do with that-- the coniving, scheming thing!
Even so, thank you to everyone who has called or written in the past week. It really and truly means a lot to me to know that you will take time out of your days to let me know you care! I also want to thank all of the Split Coast Stampers who have been sending me homeade cards! I have them all displayed in my bedroom so that I see them as soon as I wake up and remember that people all over the nation and beyond are praying for me. As Amber so adeptly wrote yesterday, my hair continues to fall out in handfuls. I still have a wee bit left, but it is getting awfully scarce. This whole experience has brought new meaning to Matthew 10:30-- "But the very hairs of your head are numbered." I cannot believe how much hair I have pulled out and still have some left!
I found out today that some of my friends from Sterling have shaved their heads in support. Thanks guys! You're awesome! It truly is amazing the difference a day can make. I go from the depths of despair to the heights of joy in so little time. Each day truly is a gift from God. Even when I'm having a bad one, I pray that I will not take for granted the gift that each day is.
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( 3 / 69 )It has been really sad watching Erin's hair fall out. She has a number of bald spots now.
On the other hand it has been fun, I never knew it could be so much fun to pull my sisters hair out!! I still walk up to her and rub her head to see how big of a handfull I can get...it sounds really bad, but it is very entertaining. God must be working overtime trying to keep track of the number of hairs on sisters head.
One very interesting note on sisters head is that she has moles...yes moles ON her head! I was soo very excited when I discovered the first one, but there are MORE than 1...I didn't know people oould have moles on their heads.
Another note....we are learning how to tie scarves as hats...Dad gave Erin a short hair cut the other day. It is about an one inch long in places and where she still has hair it sticks up through the scarf...we have tried all kids of things to keep them down. Figured out today that bandanas work the best.
This is defanatly an adventure for the most part a happy one, but there are days I miss her long curly hair!
P.S. I am hoping and praying it comes back in RED and really curly...
SISTER
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( 3 / 60 )Here are some more stories from our trip to Winfield, as well as an up-date on chemo #3.
We got to see so many people!! In addition to the people we were camped with, we saw some old friends who were just down for a day-- Josh, a friend from Teens for Christ, now going to college in Winfield; Erin, Caleb, & Lacy, some friends from Sterling who came down for a day and managed to find our campground; and Kent, a friend from Concordia, who came down to see what all our Winfield stories were about. Kent also acted as "Mr. McFeely" and brought a couple of special delivery packages. Thanks to the Fuchs', Mattie, and Kent for all their secret, behind-the-scenes work to bring me packages at Winfield!
I watched the mountain dulcimer contest on Friday morning. There were a lot of new faces this year. It was great to see old friends-- Jessica, Allison, and Aaron-- and make new ones-- Josh and Kaitlyn. Congratulations to Joe Collins for a well-deserved win! I also got to jam with some awesome dulcimists at the McSpadden booth. It's always good to see Jim, Jack, and Mary from the Dulcimer Shoppe and all the great players who stop by for some tunes.
We had an official "Traveling Trophy" awards ceremony in our camp this year. We got the previous winners together with the current recipient for the first time this year. Dad gave a speech (you know he's always got something to say
). Amber directed an airplane...um...attack? (lots of little foam airplanes were thrown from one end of the camp to the other). The traveling trophy--a Monopoly hotel -- was passed on. We all enjoyed fellowshipping together and eating pozole. This year's recipient of the traveling trophy was Paul, for cheuffering me around camp with his golf cart. He took Amber and me on a 2 hour tour of the entire campground since I wasn't up to walking that much, and also gave us several rides when we needed to get somewhere. Thanks to Jim and Ernie for coming to the ceremony as well! There are many more stories from Winfield, but that should be enough to give you an idea of the fun we had! I've been in a bit of music withdrawl this week since we've been home. I so enjoyed having music all around me while we were at Winfield! I am now inspired to work on some of my own new musical ideas.
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Chemo #3 went just fine. I played my dulcimer for most of the time. It helps keep me distracted and entertained while drugs are being pumped into my body! Thanks a bunch to Kari for fixing dinner for us Wednesday evening. It was such a blessing to have it waiting for us when we got home!!
The past two days, I've felt pretty wrotten. It is almost like I have the flu-- I ache all over, bad headache, my tummy gets upset, and I sleep a ton. Thankfully, that only lasts a couple days and then I start feeling better.
Wednesday evening, I decided it was time to cut my hair again. It was getting thin enough that it was just becoming a pain, not to mention the mess it was creating as it fell out. Dad got out the dog clippers and butched it all off. I now have a much better appreciation for how our poodle must have felt after he got his summer haircut
. Amber and I are now experimenting with how to tie scarves. I'm having a lot of fun with the hats and scarves, though I do miss my hair a lot at times. Thanks to everyone who continues to send me notes of encouragement. Your support through this time really helps me get through the difficult days. Thank you!
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