Mom started her chemo today. 4 very tiny pills each & every morning. I really hope that she will do well on this and that the side effects are not too bad, if any at all.

My Aunt, Uncle & cousin from NY are all down with her now. It is doing her good to see family that she hasn't seen in so long.  It also helps keep her mind busy.

She has to go every week to have her blood tested & every 4 weeks to see the Oncologist.
The social worker went over a lot of things with her yesterday regarding different organizations & things that are out there for cancer patients, such as wigs, scarves, makeup, etc.  She will also get a $50 gas card each month from the American Cancer Society to help cover her gas expense having to go back & for to the cancer clinic each week. This all touched me very much.
She is on a very restricted diet now as well. Only fish & chicken, no other meats. No processed foods. Cream soups, creamy cereals. The list is long. They also said to eat small portions, but often.
She has already lost a lot of weight & doesn't have much of an appetite any more anyway.

I saw the first bear of the season last night. It was dark, so I wasn't able to get any pictures, but I am sure that he was captured on the game camera. If hubby will get the chip in tonight, I will post any that we got.  I watched him through the binoculars for a while until he got scared off when hubby pulled into the garage.  He had gotten the mineral block that we have outside for the deer & brought it down to a comfy space for him to sit & nibble on it!

I got to get in a short visit with daughter today after she got off work & before she had to head to class. I have only seen her once right after I got home, so it was good to get caught up even if it was in just a short amount of time.  I really miss her. 

I am just feeling really "blah" today. Can't get motivated for anything.  I am hoping that sunshine & warmer temperatures this weekend will snap me out of this funk!

I ended up getting home from Texas on April 6.

4 days after I left, my mom ended up in the ER & then back in the hospital. She had fluids on the lungs. She ended up there for 4 days & after getting the fluids drained off,  has been home & doing well ever since.

Tomorrow she goes back to the Oncologist. When we went the first time, he told her that he is going to be putting her on a chemo pill called Votrient. She would have to take if 4 times a day every day.  The cost of the prescription is $8,561.50 per month. We were all in shock when we found that out. She does not have the drug portion on her Medicare. After working with the Social Worker at the Cancer Clinic, she will be getting it at no cost directly from the manufacturer. Thank God for that!  The Oncologist had wanted her to be able to get the drug funding worked out & build her strength up before starting to take. So we will find out tomorrow if & when she will start taking it. Then we will see if & what side effects she will have from it.
She is in Stage IV. The cancer has spread into both of her lungs. The chemo can not take it away, but "could" control it & keep it from spreading any further. If the side effects are too bad, then she will need to make that next decision (which she actually already has) about living quality life at the end...

It was so good to get back home to hubby after being gone for a month. Unfortunately, the weather was not fun to get back to! We are still awaiting spring to arrive for us here. I am hoping that will happen this coming weekend as the forecast finally shows some temperatures in the upper 60's! 
This winter season has been the 5th snowiest in our area since 1950, with the snowfall at 73.3". We have even gotten a few more inches since that record was reported.

Daughter & her bf are going on vacation at the end of May to the Caribbean island of St. Martin! Wowsers, am I envious! They will be staying on the Dutch side at an all inclusive resort.

They actually got to make a very short trip down to Texas to see my mom when I was there. It was the first time the BF met the Grandparents. He got Papa's approval! lol...
Here is a cute picture I took of them while they were there...

My newest dilemma as of now is that hubby is seriously looking into a new move for us. He has always wanted to have land. He loves to hunt. He loves his privacy & seclusion. We both absolutely love our house that we have right now, but it only has 3 acres & it is much more house than just the 2 of us need.  He has found 80 acres of very nice land. It has a 75' deep, 4 acre glacial lake on it. The house is not only smaller than ours, but also not of the same quality as the one we have now. It is nice, but just "eh"...we went & looked at the house last weekend. Hubby is going to go back this coming weekend & walk the land & look at the house again with a couple of his friends.
  With all that has happened the last couple of years with medical problems with the family, I realize that this is far from being a dilemma. But...I am just so torn. I really love where we live now. Both the location & the house. But, on the other hand, I know that hubby has always wanted to have acreage. This place is a 30 minute drive north of where we are now. Which could be worse, but I am still not too thrilled with that idea. I guess that whatever is meant to be will be. It isn't the house or the location that is important, it is having someone you love to share it with.
My main problem is that I don't do well with change. If it is something that he really wants, then I will be just as happy & we will move on with this new chapter of our lives...
My mind is just going crazy with all kinds of thoughts though!