Hi all,
Seems like it's been forever since I blogged....well...it has. So much going on here with life in South Dakota. Kids are all getting ready for school to start and I am still winding down with some health related issues. Many of you know that I have been going through a series of tests and appointments due to my dentist discovering two rather large tumors in my lower mandible. Bob and I spent two full weeks down in Houston at MD Anderson with various doctors to determine the seriousness of these tumors. They are bilateral and are pretty close to identical to one another. To make a long story short, they appear to be benign and a biopsy cannot be done of them because of their proximity to the nerves that control my lower mouth and jaw. If these nerves are severed I will not have feeling, etc. Removing them at this point isn't a good option because it would neccesitate bone grafting, extensive dental work, and plastic surgery...so we are taking a wait and see approach to this whole thing. We will be monitoring them and rechecking them every six months. I completely trust the oncologists at MD Anderson for a few reasons. First, because they are the best in the US, rated above any other cancer facility including Mayo. Secondly they actually have DDS MDs in oncology whereas the other facilities do not... highly specialized. Thirdly, they see 100,000 patients a day and only come across a few cases like mine, where as other facilities have never come across something like this.

I told you it's a long story.... The bottom line is this... God is good! HE is in charge of my life, not me, not the doctors, so I place my trust in Him. If I hadn't waited and trusted the people God has put in my path during this journey I would now be jawless...and in need of several surgeries. But in God there is peace, direction, and hope....I am now awating to get an appointment down in SF for an MRI check of my left breast...I had a mammogram done and there is some concern that needs futher checking... I figure that dealing with the second concern is much easier than dealing with possible bone cancer. God is good.

Being away from the kids for so long really made me home sick. It also made me look long and hard at my priorities and direction of my life. Bob and I had some great quality time alone and after twenty years of marriage I can honestly say that I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful loving man. Soooo... now that I am home, we are getting ready to take Megan off to school, get her all moved in to her dorm, get boys' settled up at the high school, order curriculum for the school year, and get the house ready for the parade of homes which is in less than two weeks from now. It should be an adventure. Thanks again for all the wonderful prayers, notes, emails, and cards. I love you all.

In Christ
Mary