love: the best medicine of all time

This morning started out great.  The sun was shining!  Josh was up and alert.  And he had NO signs of nausea!  We had an amazing nurse all day who shared our love of dogs.  Her husband's name is Josh and he happens to enjoy four-wheeling, Mustangs, and outdoorsy things.  Naturally, we shared lots of great stories, pictures, and laughs.  It was a blast!  We also had an unexpected visitor stop by, who I gladly welcomed in to say hi...

Josh's loving mother showed up to visit for the day.  She brought us inspirational cards, posters, and some cute pirate window stick-ems to decorate Josh's window.  Now we fit right in with the rest of the cool kids on this floor!  Mid-afternoon, Josh got VERY sleepy.  He slept and slept and slept and SLEPT.  We just woke him up to try to get him to eat a little something.  Next, we are going to try to get him out of bed to go for a walk.  Exercise will be key over the next few months.

Josh did not style his new mohawk today

in case you are wondering.... too funny!

My dad and grandpa also stopped by this afternoon.  It was so great to see them.  Two more wonderful hugs!  I think they got a kick out of walking through the children's hospital... or maybe they were just blinded by all of the colors and decorations.  They delivered a marvelous memory foam bed to go over the "couch" that I sleep on.  By couch I mean a hard, vinyl covered bench with mediocre stuffing.  Needless to say, I can not wait to use the new topper!  Actually, I have been sitting on it all day!

We got several calls and messages from loved ones, both family and friends.  I can not say enough about the healing power of good old LOVE.  It is inspirational and encouraging.  I think a life without love would be a life with nothing at all.

I got a particularly special message today from a very close loved one.  Due to my sister Darcy's undying curiosity (aka need to snoop through Grandpa's stuff), she found a book that my Grandmother filled out about me when I was a child.  It had the typical questions, like "How did you feel when you heard  you were going to be a grandmother?" and so on.  But it had one question that I think was supposed to discovered today.  Today, because this is the first time I looked at Josh and saw how this was already taking a toll on him.  Today, because we found out how the next few days of radiation would make him feel even worse.  Today, because I realized that this is going to be a little more than just a challenge.

The question:  What do you wish for your granddaughter in the future?
The answer:  My wish for your future is that you will always be happy.  Life will not always be with out adversity, but how you handle it will make the difference.  If you maintain a closeness with our creator Jesus Christ, he will guide you.  Remember what I always told you when you were tiny... Don't say "I can't do something," always say "I will try," then do your best.

My grandma passed away several years ago from lymphoma, but she had the perfect words for me when I needed them most.  Written with LOVE...