Sweet Friends and Family,

      I am so sorry that I have fallen behind in my caring book journal communication. I tend to post more on Facebook, someone reminded me the other day that not everyone is using the BOOK OF FACE as I call it. I will try to catch you up on what is going on I my life. 

     Since my last update a CT scan showed that I have several new small lesions in my lungs, my oncologist is closely watching to see if there is remarkable growth. They have been growing but not at a rate that he is worried about. I have had two CT scan since they were found and they are growing but not at a significant rate. Here is the kicker that gets me..... the liver mass, colon wall spot and lymph node spots are shrinking but the new lung spots are slowly getting larger! Weird huh? Mitch and I have a video appointment next  week with my oncologist on the 30th to discuss the latest scan results and a possible new plan of attack. We are also hoping to take a short chemo HOLLIDAY the end of Dec./Beginning of Jan. as  medical team calls it. I began Chemo on Nov 21, 2022, so I've done a FULL year of 2 week chemo cycles (one week of feeling like crap and one week of feeling sort of normal) Since this journey began, I've lost 126 lbs too!!  I DON"T recommend the chemo  diet to those who wish to lose some weight though. lol My body needs a break and so does my spirit!

      Well now that I've caught you up medically, let me share some other things that have been going on in our lives. Well back in June, Mitch and I started talking about some things that we wanted to do in the future. We decided we wanted a little more slower pace to enjoy life. We decided to make a move to Statesboro, where Mitch's family lives. We thought of selling our house and buying one there but we were given the opportunity to move in with Mitch's mom. This would allow us to help her out to do more traveling that she wanted to do as well as helping us out to do the same! So we decided to put our house up for sell and move in with Nana.  As of Oct 9th, We are part time residents of Statesboro, GA & Tucker, GA because we are renting from a friend so that I can keep my KP insurance and not have to change insurance in the middle of treatment. Can you imagine the nightmare of changing in the middle of treatment!!! This solution  means I'm traveling back to the ATL every 2 weeks for treatment.

(Ya'll I have now fully acclimated to my surroundings.......I bought some snap button wrangler shirts from Tractor Supply company LOL)

     The past few months we have been downsizing and purging our belongings to go from and 2400 sq ft house to ONE BEDROOM! Not an easy feat to accomplish but we are slowing getting there. We are also getting the house ready to sell. We just had the floors sanded and re-stained and the interior re-painted so hopefully the house will be on the market soon!! Keep your eyes peeled for the listing if you know of someone interested in living in Stone Mountain!

      Someone asked me the other day, " SOOO how is it living with your mother-in-law??"  I love it! Mitch's mom reminds me so much of my own mom who passed away in 2010! My favorite part of the day is getting up early with her and sitting at the kitchen table with our coffee and talking. She is such a blessing to me!!

     Before I sign off, Today of all days I wanted to share this with you as well. This past year I have been waking up in the mornings and giving thanks to God for that which I am grateful for in my life. The most important thing I'm thankful for is my awesome husband Mitch! He puts up with a lot from this Drama Queen!! He is amazing! He has had a lot of extra stress on him since this whole turn of events began and has handled everything I can no longer do. He is always looking out for my best interest, constantly telling to slow down and rest, giving me encouragement and just being a loving supporting spouse. I don't know what I would do without him in life! This year marks 18 years we've been together! To quote the chorus from last song on my CD "After all this time together I love him more each passing day but If would make a difference I would say....I give my heart again! I give my heart again!  Everything  I have to offer I've given Him before but everyday I love him even more than I did then and it makes me want to my heart again."

     Well I better sign off for now, Hopefully I will do a better job of updating this journal in the future now that things are beginning to settle down. I am posting a few pics below from the past few months. The first one is me finding my Old HS band letterman jacket and realizing I've lost enough weight to actually wear it again LOL. The second pic is Me and Mitch at my sweet niece April's 49th birthday party! Three and four are of our new re-stained hard wood floor! The last is of my awesome mother-in-law Shirley dressed as a clown for Halloween!

Forever Thankful, Always Grateful and Abundantly Blessed!

Much Love,

Allen