MRI Report - Good News Once Again!

This afternoon's good news definitely warrants a second blog post today.  Our radiation oncologist told us that Wednesday's MRI showed nothing unusual.  So my recent round of radiation was effective in fighting back the cancer once again!  We are so relieved and thankful! 

We just couldn't go straight back home after that good news, really feeling the need to celebrate with family.  So we invited ourselves over to Mark and Rosemary's and ordered in dinner for all of us.  This way we could also spend some time with Hannah again and see some of the finishing touches they've been making to their house lately.

new book railing in Hannah's room - can you tell her mom is a teacher?

 

Opa is really enjoying his grandkids these days

 

One guess as to who gave Hannah the "My Auntie Rocks" outfit she's wearing...

Introducing Charlie Joseph

We are so happy and thankful to

introduce to you our third grandchild

(second son of Henry and Melanie)

 

CHARLIE JOSEPH

born August 29, 2013

8 pounds, 9 ounces

 

Charlie at about 6 hours of age

Opa Gerard soaking in the wonder of it all

 

Big brother Oscar at the park with us

while baby brother Charlie is being born

 

I marvel at it all.  We are now grandparents to three precious beautiful children!  These are our children's children!  Great is thy faithfulness.  Thank you, Lord!

Meet Hannah Social

On Sunday afternoon the girls hosted a "Meet Hannah" social at our house.
  

 

They actually found balloons with her name!  It was another wonderful afternoon with family and friends. 

 

Hannah mostly slept through being passed around the circle, with nearly everyone spending some time with her.  Since she was put on soy formula last week she has been so content - even sleeping through long stretches of the night.  

 

Oscar greeting cousin Hannah

a wonderful afternoon celebrating Hannah with family and friends

Some Highlights of My Week

Every day brings new blessings and surprises.  A quick update on some of the highlights of this week...

 

A visit from Alida for almost all day on Wednesday.  It was wonderful to spend this quality time together, just catching up. 

 





Oscar cleaning up the pool

 

Our weekly visit with little Oscar.  We noticed that he's not so little anymore.  He's getting noticeably taller and slimmer.  He got his hair cut a few weeks ago and definitely looks like a boy instead of a baby now. Here he is collecting leaves to clean up the splash pad at the playground. He likes everything to be neat and orderly.



 

We went to the farmer's market to pick up some fresh corn and peaches.  I just love these carvings that were on display at the mushroom stand.

one of the turtles I saw

 

One of our friends told us that they had seen turtles at the pond in the local cemetery.  So I went to have a look.  I expected that if I found any they would be out sunning on the rocks.  I did see two, but until they started swimming, all I could see was two heads sticking out of the surface of the water.  

there were some beautiful water lilies

sitting on a big rock, I soaked in the peace and beauty of this spot

 

This morning we stopped by Canadian Tire.  I was struck by the fact that they were clearing away the summer things, had a big display of back-to-school items, and were putting out the Hallowe'en and Christmas merchandise, all on the same day (in August)!

preparing for Christmas in August!

Day Trip to Sibbald Provincial Park

Surprise! A pink morning glory among the purple ones!

 

On Tuesday we escaped the heat of the city and spent the afternoon and early evening in the shade on the beach at Sibbald Point Provincial Park.  We were trying to figure out how many years we've been going there - probably about 30 years.  It's exactly a one hour drive from our house to the park and we have many good memories of time spent there over the years.  

 

Gerard loves to go there once in a while just for a little time away. A good book, a bag of Sun chips, a can of diet coke, a swim, and our traditional 4 o'clock ice cream cone and he's content.  We usually stay into the early evening when most of the campers have gone back to their campsites and sometimes we watch the sun set over the lake. Very peaceful!

 

mountain ash berries at the park

 

Another relaxing and refreshing mini vacation!  

Celebrating How Well I've Been Feeling

These last few weeks have been great. I have felt better than I have for months; stronger emotionally and physically.  I think I'm finally getting over the side effects of the chemo and radiation. So first some beautiful flowers that are climbing up to our mailbox, to help celebrate how well I've been feeling.

celebration calls for flowers - some gorgeous morning glories

 

This morning at church a lot of people asked me how my eyesight is doing and what about the results of the MRI? I realized that I haven't updated you on these things for a while, so here we go... My eyesight is back to "normal", which means that my good left eye is much clearer again and my right eye is still blurry (will stay that way) because of the scar tissue left behind from the cancer. So I'm somewhat limited in what I can see, but I can see! What a relief and what a blessing!

 

I'm able to see and use the computer again, although I try to limit my time on it especially not using it before bedtime.  But once I get down here things always take longer than I expect and I'm easily at it for over an hour at a time.  Anyways, It's wonderful to be able to blog and read blogs again.  I'm also able to take pictures again.  However, Gerard helps me sort through my pictures to determine whether they are in focus or not.  What would I do without him?!  He is such an amazing support!  

protecting the grass from the heat

 

On Friday the ophthalmologist examined my eyes and said they looked much better than at the previous appointment two weeks ago.  I'm to keep using the eye drops, gradually reducing them until we see him again in a few weeks.  The MRI that was supposed to happen this morning was re-scheduled to August 28th so we won't hear any results of that until sometime in September.  In the meantime, we'll just take things one day at a time just the same as we would if we did know the results of the latest round of radiation.  

bake oven 

One of the reasons I haven't appeared here on my blog for a few days is because earlier this week Gerard brought me a LARGE PRINT book from the library! - a book by Maeve Binchy, one of my favourite authors.  And so I've been reading a lot this week.  What a treat to sit down and read without straining my eyes and my brain.  And so while engrossed in my book I've been living in another world and everything else has faded onto the back burner. 

We did enjoy dinner and a backyard campfire with friends this week.  We also went to our local community centre's park with some other friends, to see the open bake oven in use.  Our local city councillor treated us to oven-baked pizza.  We had missed the previous events at the oven, so this was our first time. 

Well, time to get off the computer and go for a walk.  Tomorrow I go to visit little Hannah Rose all by myself on the bus and subway.  Yay!

Welcoming Sea to Sea Cyclists

Monday was an eventful day!  Four of us (Susanne, John, Bea and I) headed down at 8:30 am to the Humber Bay pedestrian bridge at the lakefront to greet the Sea to Sea riders.

 

my "welcome" sign for the Sea to Sea riders

 

In case you are unfamiliar with this event... Sea to Sea Bike Tour is a nine-week, 3,900-mile cycling trek across North America designed to raise awareness and funds in support of those living in poverty around the world. The 2013 tour, organized by the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church of America, is expected to be the largest cross-continental bike tour ever. It began June 21, 2013 in Los Angeles and will end in New York City. Eighty cyclists are riding the entire route of 6,200 km (3,900 miles) across the Unites States and Canada and additional cyclists are popping in and out for shorter portions of the route. So far the event has already raised 1.75 million dollars.  The goal this year is 2 million!  For more information check out www.seatosea.org.  

 

our biggest "welcome" sign 

 

welcome party mingling with the cyclists

 

Whenever a group of cyclists came down the trail we'd start whooping and cheering and clapping.  It was really fun.  Quite a few of the cyclists stopped to chat with us and others waved, smiled, and kept riding.  We distributed bananas and bottles of water. 

 





our Willowdale cheerleaders

 

 

We met cyclists from all over the States and Canada and heard quick accounts of their adventures.  Each rider had a tag on the back of their bike indicating their name and where they were from.  The flip side had emergency contact information.  

Al Karsten from Hamilton ON


 

I had come down especially to cheer on Caroline, a rider from our church, and Al, a family friend, but it turned out that there were also other familiar faces.  By noon we guessed that most of the riders (someone thought about 160) had been by and we headed home.  It was inspiring to get a little taste of this amazing event. What an exciting and fun morning! And then, as you saw in the previous post, we visited little Hannah Rose.  What an eventful day!

Monday's Visit with Hannah

Yesterday we went to visit with Hannah.  It had been over a week since we last saw her and we were eager to spend some time with her (and her parents too, of course).  As it turned out she wasn't having such a good day and had been crying a lot.  She seemed to be uncomfortable, with a lot of gas.  So it was good timing for us to be there to give mommy a break and a chance to get a nap.   

Hannah Rose at 5 weeks

 

After Hannah was fed and changed we took her out for a walk, hoping that would help settle her down.  Poor little dear seemed uncomfortable and very restless.  She's so tiny and helpless! I wished she could just tell me what was wrong and that I could fix whatever was bothering her.  I got lots of cuddling time with her, trying to soothe her.    

relaxed and content on daddy's shoulder

 

By the time mommy got up from her nap and fed her, and daddy came home from work, she had worn herself out crying and finally fell asleep.  

 

finally at peace

 

It was wonderful to see how Mark switched into his daddy role as soon as he got home.  He's so good with little Hannah Rose!  Amazing and heartwarming to see our son loving his precious little daughter as he does.  What a blessing!

 

We are enjoying our two little grandchildren so much and are looking forward to meeting another one  within the next three weeks!  

 



Thursday's Visit with Oscar

We're still visiting with Oscar on Thursdays.  He seems so grown up compared to little four-week old Hannah!  Whenever the weather is good we take him to the local playground, which he loves!  On our walk there he sees all kinds of things that he has to explore.  He sits on little walls, runs up and down little ramps, tries out the steps, climbs on railings, checks out sticks and leaves and pinecones, and announces all the dogs, babies, buses, trucks, and airplanes that he sees. 

getting a closer look at the flowers

 

Seeing the world through his eyes gives me a new appreciation for every little thing.

a new toy

 

This park is perfect for toddlers. There are lots of riding toys left by parents, for everyone to use.  Oscar became interested in this lawnmower that we hadn't seen before.  The first two places he goes to are always the sandbox that has lots of shovels and construction vehicles, and the swing.

 

At 10 a.m. the splash pad starts filling up with water.  This was the first time we let him into the water.  He went in up to his ankles, caught his breath, and came back out.  Then he went in up to his knees and ran back out.  I decided to go in figuring it would be safer to be closer to him.  The water was freezing!  But that didn't seem to bother him.  He was enjoying himself and we enjoyed watching him.

 

 

Our next visit will be with little Hannah Rose.  



Garden Updates

Our sunflower plants just keep growing taller and taller. The tallest is at least ten feet high by now. And they're loaded with flowers nodding a cheerful welcome to anyone approaching our house.
 

 

Through the living room window we've enjoyed watching the gold finches feasting on the sunflower seeds.

  

can you find the gold finch in this picture?

(sorry for the reflection in the window)

 

I found this dryad's saddle fungi growing on a pile of dead branches in our very own back yard the other day!

dryad's saddle fungi

 

Gerard observed that my thinking seems to be getting clearer the last few days.  Maybe those side effects of the radiation are starting to wear off.  I also felt like working in the garden again and was out there for two hours both yesterday and today.  It was getting a little overgrown so I did a lot of pulling and clearing out.  I do like the natural look in the garden, but not quite as wild as it had grown.

 

Gerard had a profitable day picking up garbage in our neighbourhood a few days ago.  He found an August Metro Pass (public transit pass worth over $100.) and further along his route a $20. bill!  I was all excited about the Metro Pass, but he insisted on leaving it on the curb near where he found it so that if the owner re-traced their steps they could find it back. This morning it was gone so we're hoping the rightful owner found it, and otherwise hoping that someone else will enjoy a month of free transit. 

 

Well, that's all for now.  I've been invited to sit and socialize with a small knitting group that's meeting a few houses over.  So I'm off.  Talk to you later!

Happy Day High on Iced Cappuccino

 

Today was a happy day.  I wish I could say I was high on the joy of the Lord, but I must confess I was high on cappuccino.  As some of you may know, when I have an iced cappuccino (had to look up the spelling on Google) in the morning, I'm "wired" all day, get very excited and talkative and happy, and usually can't sleep very well at night. 

rudbeckia and purple coneflower

 

I've been quite lethargic lately.  Gerard thinks I'm probably a bit depressed.  So he walked to Tim Horton's early this morning and picked up a small iced cappuccino, hoping it would lift my spirits as it usually does. I only drank half of this small drink and I still felt much stronger, more alive and energetic than I've felt for a while. 

 

I felt inspired to do some gardening.  Gerard helped me tie back the hydrangea (had to Google that spelling too) that were weighed down from the rain.  And I cleared out a whole lot of spent flowers.  It felt great to go at the garden with this new energy and joy.

 

re-tying the hydrangea

 

Our pastor came for a visit this afternoon and those visits always help us keep things in perspective. He asked us for an update, which made me realize that I should probably give an update here on last week's appointment with our ophthalmologist.  First of all, while sitting in the waiting room, I realized, from looking at the wording above each doctor's reception window, that I have been spelling optomologist wrong all this time and it should actually say ophthalmologist! (had to Google that spelling too when we got home - how did I ever manage without Google!?).

 

So the ophthalmologist (this is going to take some practise!) examined my eyes and said that structurally they are fine.  However, there is probably some inflammation somewhere as a result of the radiation.  I wasn't sure I understood everything he said, because we had already figured out the inflammation part ourselves.  I must have missed something. So I repeated what I thought he said, and he said, yes, that's right. Leaving the office we were no wiser about what was going on than when we arrived, except that we should continue using the eye drops and come back to see him in two weeks, hoping that by then my vision will have improved.  

 

the garden is so colourful with lots of phlox and rudbeckia in full bloom

 

My vision has improved a bit since last week. but it is still misty. Fortunately it is clear enough to allow me to read and to use the computer for short periods of time, with effort. I'm thankful for the vision I have, but it is easy to get discouraged. We have an MRI scheduled in a few weeks, to follow up on the radiation.  So in a few weeks we should have some information on whether the cancer is back in remission or what exactly the status is now. 

 

We pray for trusting the Lord with our future and for the courage and ability to adjust to these new circumstances.  And we continue to pray for healing. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers.  

More Celebrations!

We seem to be rolling from one celebration into another these days! On Sunday we were up in Orangeville, invited by Jeff's family to celebrate Jeff and Alida's engagement with his family and friends this time, and also Jeff's brother Jordan's 30th birthday. 

Alida & Gerard

 



the double duty cake

Opening gifts - note Jordan's cool chef hat

Yes, they're happy together!

Alida and her mom (that would be me)

Alida, Jeff, and brother Jordan

evening around the fire

 

It was another wonderful afternoon and evening of fellowship, food, and fire. All these celebrations give us goals and positive blessings to focus on.  And we also get to spend lots of time with family and friends. 

Celebrating Sixty Years in Canada

Now that I have some pictures taken by other family members I can update you on last Saturday.We attended the Duiker Family reunion to celebrate sixty years in Canada!



 

 

We arrived to find a huge event tent all decorated with a red/white/blue banner (colours of the Dutch flag), floral centre pieces with Canadian flags, and orange table cloths (for the Dutch House of Orange). It all looked very festive! Since we don't see everyone very often, it was truly a reunion.  The turnout was the best in years.  

 

There was an activity through which family members were introduced and memories shared.  The Duiker Family immigrated from The Netherlands in June 1953, arriving by boat in Halifax and then travelling by train to Kingston, Ontario.  Carla, the oldest child, had been sent ahead of the family to find a sponsor and lodging for the family, and a job for her dad. Once that was all settled, the rest of the family joined her and they lived in Sydenham, just north of Kingston, for almost a year, and then moved to Thornton south of Barrie, finally settling in Barrie, Ontario.

 

The youngest child had to be smuggled through customs because she got the chicken pox (or was it the measles?) just before the trip across the ocean and the family didn't want to be denied access to the ship.  Once at sea she spent a good portion of the trip isolated in the sick bay, and the rest of the family was actually sick (sea sick) for most of the trip, elsewhere on the ship, women and men separated from each other in different parts of the ship. Anyways, those were some of the memories shared that day.  

 

Brother Jerry, who planned and hosted the event, had gone all out.  Dinner was catered in and the evening was topped off with amazing fireworks and a campfire.  It was a great reunion. Thank you, Jerry!  And thank you, Canada, for accepting so many Dutch immigrants and allowing the Duiker's to call this country "Home" for sixty years!