Watch for Falling Rock... I mean, Trees

It has been wonderful to be outside in recent weeks and to see the progress that is being made in our yard! Derek has felt SO MUCH BETTER than he felt last year at this time (which is probably a given) and he has loved being able to return to the yard work that has always been so therapeutic for him. The whole family has participated in the effort and will hopefully continue to do so, as we still have much to do.

We took out a large gravel driveway on the west side of our yard last fall and were able to fill that space with sod in April. It has come in green and lush and beautiful... we love it. How great it is to have a nice lawn again after our expensive-to-water acre of prickles in Colorado!:) Derek built five raised garden boxes and we got those filled with seeds this weekend. He planted, or transplanted, five new fruit trees and some grapes and raspberries and then we planted all our vine-y vegetables around them. Also last year we pulled out all the old bushes in the yard that were overgrown and not our favorite. So we've been carefully making new plans and buying new plants for planting in all our flower beds, which we are attempting to keep weed-free.  I'm trying not to be overwhelmed by this and we're hoping to have things in the ground and growing nicely by the end of the month... we'll see how that goes.  Probably the most exciting family activity of them all was the felling of three big trees in the front yard. We couldn't have gotten them all down nicely without the help of the kids' muscles and wisdom and it was a fun family night, long to be remembered. The next few months should bring the removal of an old, sagging deck and the construction of a new deck/patio and a shed. We are so grateful that Derek is feeling well and has been motivated to take on these projects with us.

We met with Derek's oncologist again recently, after three months of blood tests and another PET/CT scan. We were a bit nervous about it because his CEA count, or "tumor marker," had been rising slightly and we'd been told that that could be an indicator of the growth of new cancer cells. We were really hoping that Derek would not be in need of further treatments right now! His oncologist did say that it's not necessarily good that the tumor marker is coming up, but it is still in the normal range and the results of the scan showed no new active cancer cells... nothing has changed in the last six months, which was so good to hear! The doctor was very positive, encouraging and hopeful and basically said that he wasn't going to treat cancer he couldn't see so we should feel good about a continued remission, not worry yet, and fully enjoy the summer... which we plan to do!

So we'll just keep moving along, knowing that jobs are hard and take all your time, but provide for temporal needs that are necessary... knowing that a terminal illness diagnosis doesn't instantly make you or the people around you perfect at coping with things that require patience and understanding... knowing that everything that is the most rewarding is difficult but worth it in the end... and knowing that being able to work is a blessing and time is a gift that deserves attention and planning to be spent well. Just like the rest of you, we are doing our best to remember the things we have learned and to celebrate the things that are going well as we continue to move forward. Hard things will fall but they don't have to crush us... especially if we make good use of properly placed "guide ropes!":) We hope you are all well and happy and enjoying some sun on your face today!