46 days... and counting

Well fans... we are in the final days until THE WEDDING... 46 days to go... or rather 1 month, 14 days, 21 hours, 21 minutes and 50 seconds to be exact... but who's counting right?

In the next 46 days, I have 4 more days of teaching (I'm taking tomorrow off again), 1 day of moving my stuff home, 2 days of nothing but driving to/from Tulsa, 1 day of bridal portraits, 3 days with my nieces, 7 days in Tulsa, 2 bridal showers and a lot of last minute details!

I'm not getting nervous or scared. All we have left to do is put the ribbon on our programs when we get them, write thank you notes from the bridal showers, create our photo slideshow, set up our play lists for the ceremony and reception, order our flowers and other floral items for the center pieces and show up! Everything has been so coordinated that I honestly feel like we will be stress-free the week leading up to the wedding!! This would be awesome since my parents and nieces will arrive early in the week and the rest of his family will arrive the end of the week!

It is looking like we will have about 55 people attending the wedding. Which makes for a really intimate event, right up our alley! We wanted to have an event that wasn't so big that we felt like we were unable to see our guests. We are hoping for clear skies the night of the wedding so that the ceremony can take place outside on the deck overlooking the lake in view of the mountains!

We finally had our engagement photo shoot last weekend. I have only seen one picture but I know they will be awesome! If you would like to see the "teaser" shot you can go to http://www.elipowellphotography.com/theblog/ . Our photographer is a lot of fun. He is getting married the end of June so he is well aware of the stressors in our lives as well as what couples are looking for in their photos! I am looking forward to my bridal portrait session in June when I come back from Tulsa!!!

Other exciting news in my life... I got my engagement ring 2 weeks ago! It is SOOO beautiful!!!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers- Ian is waiting to hear back from the company he had a second interview with last week and I will know something by Friday as to whether or not I am being offered a job with Denver Public Schools. I have applied to several other districts in the area, I would LOVE to be contacted by 2 that I can think of off hand!

Updates on Grandma Austin

So mom has been a frequent flier to the various doctors offices and their phone systems in the past two weeks...

Grandma had her appointment with the Oncologist that specializes in the wonderful world of women's reproductive systems. He confirmed that Grandma has a non-aggressive cancer that has attacked her womb and that it is likely late stage 1 early stage 2. His has already laid out several plans of attack- all without any treatments of chemo or radiation. All plans include a complete hysterectomy with the removal of 2 lymph nodes and a biopsy of 3 or 4 others to be safe. He wants to make sure that there aren't any cancer cells potentially lying dormant in her body to wake up later and make another come back.

Plan A: Complete hysterectomy by way of laser incision and robotic camera/arm. This plan would have grandma back up and on her feet within 72 hours... This is the best case scenario...

Plan B: Same as plan A but with the additional removal of the other lymph nodes which would mean a little more pain and a little longer procedure... but still up and about rather quickly.

Plan C: Worse Case Scenario- A traditional hysterectomy with the removal of the various lymph nodes... this is the worse case because the recovery time would be upwards of a month... this scenario would take place if once they get the robotic camera in and they realize that the previous radition not only left painful scar tissue but also adhered the organs together (bladder to the uterus, intestines to the uterus, etc).

The surgery has been scheduled for next Friday, May 27 in the morning... please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she prepares for the surgery and recovery. I am hoping for plan A... not to be selfish but I want my mom and dad to enjoy themselves in Colorado when I get married in July and if the surgery ends up being Plan C, my grandma might still be under their care when they come out... and trying to get home health set up is not an easy feat, especially with Medicare...

Remission No More...

If planning a wedding and being within 60 days of the big day isn't stressful enough for any bride... or the final 20 days of school with IEPs to finish, evaluations to complete, progress reports to update, folders to organize, rooms to pack/move/clean isn't stressful enough for any teacher... or looking for a job (for yourself or your significant other) isn't stressful enough for any unemployed person... or having a close friend or family member deploy (or redeploy) to the Middle East isn't stressful enough... we find out that my mom's mom (my Grandma Austin) is no longer in remission from cancer. What a wonderful time in my life right now! If I happen to spontaneously burst into tears, you will understand hopefully...

Grandma had been in remission from renal cancer since 2004. She was diagnosed in the Fall of 2002 with late stage 5 renal cancer, one the doctors didn't think she would fully recover even with radiation and chemo... by Spring of 2004 the Oncologists announced that she was in remission... and has stayed that way until this year...

My mom noticed that Grandma hadn't wanted to make her annual "cancer doctor" appointment in January and that she had been complaining about various ailments that were out of the ordinary for her. Mom FINALLY broke down and made the doctors appointment for her mom... only to find out that the doctor had some SERIOUS concerns and he wanted Grandma to complete a CT/PT scan, a visit with the "cancer doctor" and an appointment with the OB-GYN for more tests... all were scheduled last week for the next few weeks (one a week for 3 weeks).


Today was Grandma's CT/PT scan (not sure which she had) in the morning. By the time they were finished with the scan, the doctor's office was calling mom asking them to come into his office that afternoon. My dad met my mom and grandma at the doctor's office this afternoon to get the first round of news. The scan showed renal cysts (doctor isn't worried about these), some diverticulitis (not concerned either since it isn't inflammed), and uteran cysts (very concerned). Not to mention her blood pressure has been higher than the doctor would like and her blood work showed high CSA's (an indicator of the presence of cancer). Her OB appointment has been changed from 2 weeks from today to Friday- well woman appointment has turned into an appointment complete with a biopsy and other tests... Cancer doctor appointment is next Tuesday.

Please keep my mom and grandma in your thoughts and prayers as they re-embark upon this voyage again...