Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Gretch.

It has been a fairly quiet week since I last posted. The weekend was warm and sunny. I am writing this while sitting in the sun today. For those of you that live in warm, sunny climates, it might not be a big deal, but wintertime in Northeast Ohio can be quite depressing. Lots of dark, cloudy days that make you feel so cruddy. We sure do appreciate the sunny days!!

Mark, Lauren, Gio, and I went to El Rincon, our favorite Mexican restaurant on Friday night. I have written before that Lauren has lost her taste for Mexican food, but it has come back a tiny bit. She loves the queso dip with chorizo. I think she could make a meal of that with chips and eat nothing else! I don't know how her tummy handles it, but it does.

Wo and Gio went to his house on Sat. and did yard work. Gio said he couln't believe how much energy Wo had. She helped him rake leaves and mowed on the tractor. Her legs were really sore and achy that evening, which is understandable. Lauren was hungry for chicken salad, so she and Gio made some along with pasta salad. Gio liked it, but Wo was disappointed in it. I didn't taste the chicken salad, but the pasta salad was great.

Sunday morning Mark made his usual big breakfast. Lauren and Gio went on a bike ride and a walk after breakfast. We were happy to see Lauren with energy! We all went over to Gio's in the afternoon since the Browns weren't playing this week. Mark and Gio hung motion detector lights around the outside of the house so Wo feels safe there. Gio always teases Lauren about her hating the house. It's not that at all. She loves the house, but likes to have people around her all the time and doesn't like to be by herself. She doesn't want you to bug her, just be around her. Plus he doesn't have cable or internet yet. Once she has that, I'm sure she will want to be there more.

Wo and I met all of our girlfriends for breakfast on Monday morning at our usual place, The Frontier in Hartville. There was a pretty big crowd this time. Lauren and I, Debbie B., Dawn, Debbie J., Ruth, Sherry, and her son, Jack. I had kind of had my fill of big breakfasts, so I just got a blueberry muffin. That definitely was a first! We always have the best time with these ladies. I don't think Jack said one word and probably couldn't wait to get out of there away from all of us cackling hens! Haha. Lauren and I went grocery shopping after that.

We had a lunch date with our friend, Lisa on Tuesday. We met her at Rockne's in Fairlawn. Our  friend, Sharon, that passed away this summer from gall bladder cancer has a daughter named Katie. She had written to me saying she would like to go to lunch with us in place of her Mom. She was planning on coming this time and we were all set for her and her two little children with a high chair, baby car seat holder, and coloring supplies. Her daughter woke up early with a runny nose and Katie didn't think she would make it through lunch without her nap. She also didn't want Lauren and Lisa around a child with a runny nose. Hopefully, they will be able to join us next time. She misses her Mom so much and I think it would be nice to cheer her up a bit. I finally charged the battery to my camera, so here is a pic of Lisa and Lauren.

After lunch with Lisa, Lauren went to dinner with her good friend, Jill. They went to Don Pablos down on The Strip. They shopped a bit at Marshalls and Wo was home by 8:30. Jill has been such a great friend to Lauren. Her Mom, Debbie is one of my good friends and still sends Lauren a card every week. We love you both so much!

Lauren started back on her Xeloda last night. She will take it for two weeks, have a rest week, and then have a CT on Dec.4th She will have labs, doctor visit, and chemo, if it is decided what new type on Dec.5th. She is having back pain and she says her liver feels really big and it is hard to lay on her stomach or side. She mainly sleeps on her back. I hope her CT shows good news. It is so hard wondering what is going on in that liver.

Lauren feels like a lot of her friends have kind of forgotten about her. If you could leave her a little message of encouragement, I am sure it would help a great deal. Thanks so much for your continued support. We would appreciate any prayers for good scans, tumor shrinkage, and maybe even a miracle. Also a few for all of our CC friends and for our friends with other cancers as well. Thank you so much.

I will leave you with a sweet pic of Wo and her first dog, Gretchen. Lauren was really afraid of dogs when she was little and would practically crawl up on Mark's shoulders when she saw a dog. She could spot one a quarter mile away and start panicking. We loved dogs and wanted one so bad. We had gone to a shelter and Lauren freaked out at puppies because they are so hyper. One day the shelter called us and said they had the perfect dog for us. They told us to come down and bring Lauren to see her. The dog was very calm and Lauren was not scared of her. I think something magical happened between them. She was meant to be there for Lauren and to help her overcome her fear. She was such a scruffy little thing with a terrible underbite. Her name was Gretchen and she was a stray that had recently had puppies. She also nursed some orphaned puppies, so I knew she was a sweet girl. She was one of the best dogs we have ever had. Sadly, we didn't have her for a really long time. She developed cancer and passed away. It took us so long to get over her, but she is forever in our hearts. This is Wo and Gretch making the Gretch face. Until next time...Love, -Pam