Sad Day

     Today Brian lost his mother to a sudden illness. She got the flu and her lungs just couldn't handle it. We flew to NY on Wednesday when we got the news that she was sick and going into ICU. Brian had an MRI that day and we got the call on the way home from Nashville. We got plane tickets and packed in an hour and a half. We got to Troy at 12:30 am and went straight to the hospital. She never knew we were there. She never regained consiousness and was on a ventilator. The difficult decision was made to take her off life support today and she passed away peacefully. We had to come home to see the oncologist tomorrow. We will return to NY for the services as soon as they are set.

Spring Break 2016!

    There are just a couple more days to enjoy the very last Spring Break of my teaching career! We sadly said goodbye to Brother and Sister in law this morning as they trek back to cold NY. We all spent an amazing three days in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN. We had a cabin with an awesome view! We saw deer, turkeys, and bears! We went to Clingman's Dome, Cades Cove, and the Chimneys picnic area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We sampled wine from two winerys and got lemon cake from Ely's Mill gift shop. It was a wonderful time spent with family.
     Monday we had a dermatologist appt. Tuesday Brian had his second infusion. We saw Dr. Sosman who was very pleased with how well Brian is handling the treatment plan. He scheduled the next CT scan for late May. He also let us know that, regardless of CT results, Brian will have an additional 12 weeks of single medication treatment. This medicine is Yervoy and is administered every two weeks. Hopefully he handles that treatment as well as he is this one.

The Chimneys

Living Room

Pool table in Loft

View from cabin

The Saga Continues

     As you may have heard, my Sweet Husband has has a recurrence of his melanoma. We found out right before Christmas. He had lung surgery in early January to determine if the spots were melanoma or some other cancer. They were melanoma. To say it knocked us on our asses would be an understatement. We were so sure we had gotten rid of it the first time around. So we shopped around for another Dr. and found a melanoma specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center. They have an awesome cancer center. He had several other tests run and it was determined that he should start immunotherapy. The two medicines are Yervoy and Opdivo. Highly toxic and with serious side effects. He started this protocol three weeks ago and we were terrified! He has an infusion of medication - a four hour process - every three weeks. In between infusions he has to go to the Dr. for labs and checkups as the medications are so toxic. So far things are going very well! He has not been sick and all his labs have been great! He has his next infusion on the 29th which is next Tuesday. The entire protocol goes through May 10th. We are hoping and praying that things continue to go this well and he comes through this with no bad effects. The end result is to have the spots all go away. He will have CT scans and MRI scans at the end of the treatment to see what our next steps are.
     Based on the health implications we are facing, and other things happening in education, I have decided to RETIRE! I had planned to stay another two years, but - naaaahhhh! We are now planning where we want to travel first! My last day of work will be May 28th, 2016! I can't believe it! Neither can my boss! LOL! Right now I have started Spring Break! My last Spring Break! YAY!

First infusion - mad face! :-)

Really bad selfie!

Updated Photos of My Craft Room!

     Brian and I have been adding to the Craft Room. I had chosen the largest of the three other bedrooms for my craft room several years ago. The others are a guest room and an office/music room. Anyway, Brian has shown an interest in certain aspects of my crafting and so we have added some new spaces. He also bought me a new printer for Christmas this year! It prints up to 13" scrapbook pages! Awesome!

Not So Happy New Year

     We got some not so great news just before Christmas. Brian has been having CT scans every three months as regular protocol after his melanoma surgeries. All has been well until December. Three small spots showed up on his latest CT scan. One in the left lung and two in the right lung. We decided to go to Vanderbilt in Nashville to see a melanoma specialist. Last week he had the largest of the nodules removed. We spent three days in the hospital. Today we learned that it is positive for melanoma. That means it has metastasized into his lungs. We go back to Vanderbilt on Monday to meet with the melanoma specialist and decide the best course of action. He will be having immunotherapy. We do not know too much about that or what it entails. We do have lots of people praying for him and he has very good health so we are hopeful for a very good outcome. This was not the news we had hoped for in this new year. We were so very close to two years cancer free!
     We did not let all of this keep us down for the holidays. We got a HUGE tree at our favorite Christmas tree farm, we visited the winery close by with the tree hanging out of our tiny car. We went out and about to lots of Holiday events. Brian sang at several events and parties in town including the Gallatin Christmas Parade. We saw the Megacavern in Louisville, KY, as well as the Jim Beam distillery. We had all the kids and grandkids over Christmas morning for presents and brunch. We enjoyed another New Year's Eve in Nashville with 150,000 of our closest friends!
     We are still planning our summer vacation. The choices are hard. New York, Cape Cod, Florida, Texas, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, Arkansas.....etc! I'll keep everyone posted about our decision and on the cancer stuff, too.

Second Anniversary!

     I cannot believe it has been almost TWO years since I married my first love! It still feels almost surreal! He has been in my dreams for all my life - and now he is for real! He treats me like a queen every single day and spoils me to no end! We are busy making memories and making up for lost time. We are a perfect match in every way. We were back then, and we still are. I can't believe how lucky and very blessed we are to have this second chance at love.

Smoky Mountains

Happy Halloween!

     Halloween is tomorrow and it marks the second anniversary of the night my sweet husband asked me to marry him! He met me at Albany airport where I had flown in to spend a long weekend with him as we were renewing our love. It was kinda difficult living 1,000 miles apart! He had his guitar with him so I knew he would sing to me...but I had NO idea he was going to propose! He sang Train's "Marry Me" in front of everyone at the airport! Then got down on one knee and proposed to me! I was so totally shocked and surprised! Of course I said YES! That was the beginning of the most wonderful times of my life!