HOME SWEET HOME - SORT OF

The wait at the border yesterday was BRUTAL!!
At least an hour.

We arrived home today around 3pm, after laying around the luxurious Motel 6 until their 12 noon check out time.  It's always a bit of a transition coming back home.  The ride can be exhausting and nauseating for Valerie and after staying at our little bungalow it was a bit harder to come back to our still unfinished home.    I hesitate to mention this because we are lucky and fortunate to have such worries as this, but it is an impacting factor on Valerie's health, so I'm going to go ahead and trust that you will take it with the vein in which it is intended.  It will involve a little bit of a history lesson on how we got to where we are now, for those that may just be joining us. :)

I've mentioned before that we bought our very first home last July 2010.  We had both worked and saved for many years and then we did a lot of work in finding something that we could afford without being irresponsible.  We found something that we could afford comfortably and not have to go into debt (other than the mortgage, which we consider an investment).  This took a LOT of hard work and determination.

Once we moved in, because we'd been so careful, we had some wiggle room to update our original 1950s bathroom and kitchen.  We still did this very intentionally - getting a Home Depot card that would allow us to have no interest for 12 months, etc.  We were very careful to do things in a way that did not put us into debt that we had no foreseeable plan or way to pay off quickly.

Then BAM!!  7 months into a long, hard, exhausting remodel, Valerie found this strange lump in her breast.  Needless to say, the people in our house (literally) finished up their jobs and then everything related to the house pretty much came to a screeching halt.  This meant, we've been living with a main bathroom for over a year with no vanity, sink or toilet and a shower that had plastic tarp nailed up to the backer board so we could shower.  We've had the kitchen cupboard doors off of the cupboards and laying in a pile in the corner of the kitchen waiting to be stained ... because that was cheaper than buying new cupboards.  They've been laying in the kitchen nook area that will one day hold a small table and 2 chairs.  Valerie has always said this will be her favorite place in our new house.

There are MANY more examples of unpainted closet doors, hardware not on drawers, no bedroom furniture, a garage still full of boxes, walls with nothing on them .... all of this to say that we are still living in a very unfinished house.  For a person recovering from such a debilitating illness, this is even more difficult and frustrating.  I should pause and say that Valerie's brother Jon, and her niece Vanessa, and the Jungbauer Paint Posse did complete some of these projects... painting, installing a bathroom vanity, etc.  And that has been SO appreciated and helpful.  It is because of them that we have a pretty fulling functioning main bathroom now and paint on almost all of our walls.

Most of you can probably relate to times when you are sick, depressed, etc. ... and you reach for your favorite blanket, go to your favorite room in the house, find your favorite chair, whatever environment you think brings you the most peace and comfort.  Valerie doesn't have that.  She has bare walls, unpainted closet doors, boxes in the corner, a dinner tray table as a bedside stand, and really only 2 places she can comfortably be - in bed or in the lazy boy in the living room.  Not a lot of options for someone healing.

There's no reason to share this except just to share.  Valerie and I talk about it pretty frequently and even more so today after coming home from such a nice getaway.  We will get there - it'll just take time and of course, the ever needed money. :)  We were talking today about how sad we feel that when we are in Mexico, we can spend most all of our time together, but once we get home, I have to run a not-yet-finished house that 2 of us used to run together - and it pretty much takes ALL of my time.

(**Here's a small clip of the long awaited "12 Days of Treatment."  If you can't hear it, let me know and I'll post the lyrics**)

So please know that all of your donations, your time, your thoughts, your prayers, your love, your encouragement - have all made this journey that much easier to bear.  It would have been unbearable and we would have felt completely defeated without you.

Now I do have a few updates..... Valerie has continued to be nauseous, and travelling pretty much wipes her out.  We came home and she promptly crawled into bed and went to sleep.  BUT she has also been eating pretty well and not vomiting, so we'll call that a success!

We both think once she settles back into a routine here at home, the nausea will subside and she'll continue to get stronger.

We have learned that the Oasis' strong points do not include communication, so this time we asked better questions.  After talking to the doctor yesterday, the plan is for Valerie to have a repeat of tests done in about 3-4 weeks.... bone scan, and MRIs of her chest and abdomen.  Then we'll send those results and images to the Oasis and they'll let us know what's the next step in the course of treatment.  That way, we won't get there for 6 days of treatment, only to learn that we really need to stay for 12!

All of the roads within the complex of our
bungalow looked like this - ADORABLE!!
Except if you are nauseous, then NOT so
adorable.   Or wearing flip flops... NOT
adorable.  Just sayin'. 

When we got home today there was a pile of lovely mail to go through... okay, so it wasn't so lovely.  :)  But there were 2 VERY LOVELY packages waiting for us.  I mentioned one in a previous post.  My mom had sent ahead some banana bread, knowing how much Valerie liked it last time.  Well, did she EVER send some banana bread!  I don't know how much the package weighed, but it cost $15 to mail it and the ONLY thing in it was large loafs of banana bread, banana bread muffins, small loafs of banana bread... you get the picture.  :)  It's AWESOME!!!  (I have to admit, I've already eaten 3 muffins just while I've been writing this.   Mom, did you put  crack in these?!)

The other package was from a mutual friend of ours from many moons ago... Charla (used to be Johnson now Shultz), her husband Michael, and their 2 children, Titus (age 3) and Karis (age 2).  After they watched The Sound of Music (one of mine and Valerie's favorites) they started a box of their favorite things.  We got everything from bubbles, to lollipops, to t-shirts from their favorite place to eat - Buc-ees!!  I've been wearing the Buc-ee hat all afternoon. :)  We'll try to take pictures tomorrow.  THANK YOU CHARLA AND FAMILY!!!!!!

Tomorrow, Valerie plans to take a bike ride.  Some of you know that one of the reasons we moved to Long Beach was because of how walking and biking friendly it is.  Since moving here we have biked all over - we LOVE biking around Long Beach.  Valerie hasn't been able to bike for several months now and it's been really hard for her.  So, I'll keep you all posted on the progress of our ride tomorrow!

 (**One of the many sites while waiting to cross the border.  This little girl couldn't have been more than 7 or 8.  She would stand on the boys' shoulders and juggle - 4 BALLS!!  I can juggle pretty well... 3 balls.  THIS is REALLY good!!**)