On our way to hang out with friends for the afternoon we passed by two siblings out selling cookies, hot chocolate, and apple cider. The wind was blowing quite fiercely and yet they were out there. The girl was holding a sign that was flapping in the wind and the boy was on his knees animatedly trying to get people to stop. We decided to turn around and C and Willie went to buy cookies. They thought the two children were hilarious.

We continued on our way and had a great afternoon eating yummy food, visiting, and playing games – Tellestrations, Flip 7s, Exploding Kittens, and Bubble Talk.

C is now working on her Captain’s application.

Willie had an eye doctor appointment yesterday. They continue to make sure he doesn’t have GVHD of the eyes developing. His eyes look healthy, but they don’t produce oils as much as they should so he does need to help them do that by wearing a warm compress before bed or in the morning.

My Papa called from Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto and Willie and I got to have a virtual tour. That was an enjoyable 20 minutes.

C had a movie night with some of the girls from Cross Country. They also spent time writing down their goals for the next few meets. Tuesday is the last regular season meet. Sections is the following week and State is the next week. Their team has never made it to State, but the girls have been running really strong this season. We felt Cs confidence was a little low at the beginning of the season, but I think it has come back with a force. Excited to see her run over the next few weeks.

Today Willie and I drove east to drop off the first grill he sold. Afterward we went and picked up our half of beef. We now have a fill freezer.

Willie taught C how to install new windshield wipers. They also filled her tires because there was a low tire pressure message going off, but Willie thinks it is a bad sensor.

C and I spent a good portion of the afternoon working on her application for becoming a team captain of the cross country team next year. Tomorrow she will type it up and refine it. Today’s focus was getting our thoughts down on paper.

C and her friends had a barn dance this evening. She isn’t home yet, but I am guessing she had a great time.

I don’t know why I didn’t write last night. I worked and had a lot of meetings today. My sister called briefly and I chatted with her and my grandmother. We stayed up really late and then it was hard to sleep. C was out late with practice and youth group. I didn’t take any pictures.

We woke up to rain and it almost never stopped for the entire day. This morning I logged into my computer, took care of a few things, walked away, it locked, and then I couldn’t get back in. So my day was spent helping C with her Spanish homework and completing various administrative tasks around the house and helping Willie dispose of the old stove. After supper we went to our neighbor’s house and had Bible study. It was a very nice evening.

Willie and I had off work on Monday, so we took care of a few chores. First we were going to drop off our old stove and cardboard boxes, but we discovered they are not open on Mondays. So we continued on to pick up our trailer so that we could move the grills from our garage to the storage unit. We then worked on fixing our small garage door. It looks like it has been hit a few times with a sledgehammer or something and now it looks a tad less so. The key was to make it so that we couldn’t see daylight through any of the edges. Willie is trying to keep the critters out of the garage.

Dinner ended up being a tad fancier than our usual weekly fare. Willie prepared all the ingredients for a homemade red enchilada sauce before going in to his ultrasound appointment for his arm pit (results came back normal). I made Mexican rice and homemade refried beans, and a chicken/sweet potato “enchilada” casserole. There were no tortillas in it, hence the “enchilada”. C was not impressed when she saw me crumple bacon into the beans. I do it almost every time and she has never noticed. It ended up being a pretty tasty dinner.

C had a cross country meet and ran great. Almost the entire team of 80 runners had PRs! C was one of them. She PRd by 1:16! Excellent running by everyone. Thankfully the temps were much cooler than the record-setting 80s we had yesterday. Willie and I got quite a bit of running in ourselves moving along the course. It was quite fun.

Willie bought a jointer today. It was the last tool he needed to start some of the woodworking projects he has in mind.

C helped him finish putting the table saw he bought several weeks ago together.

Our road bikes in their boxes are now up in the storage attic and the garage is feeling more open.

The 49er game was very exciting and we had to go for a walk afterward to get Willie’s blood pressure down. He stresses out watching them play.

The reason behind our oven smelling when I tried to bake. So close to starting a fire.

All the visible cranes were facing the same direction, including two that were out of the camera frame.

The sunset from our bench.

Art at the park. The feather and kayak sculpture was being assembled our first fall here.

I was going to make tonight’s post primarily photos from the day, but they haven’t loaded yet, so just a few sentences.

Our major project of the day was changing out our oven. The old one was starting to smell like plastic was burning and we couldn’t figure out where it was coming from except whenever I tried to use the oven it smelled quite bad. We first went to a place that was supposed to be scratch and dent appliances, but we instead found a used dealer and there was absolutely no way I wanted a used oven. The new appliance location was at the end of the building but they were closed. The used guy called them to say we were there to look at stoves and they said they were out, so no scratch and dent for us. We ended up buying a stove at Lowe’s. Thankfully it was on sale. After doing several passes along the aisle we landed on getting the same exact stove we had put in our kitchen back in Fairbanks. We liked it once, why change it up we decided.

C had to run for an hour today on a flat area, which is not our neighborhood, so we headed to a nearby lake and Willie and I walked while C ran. There were quite a few people out enjoying the unseasonable weather. Willie and I noticed an older gentleman gathering seeds from plants along the trail. We wondered what kind they were as we couldn’t tell. At one point near the end of our walk we sat on a bench to watch the sunset. The man walked by and I decided to ask him what he was picking. We ended up having a pleasant visit and continued a little more of the walk together until our paths diverged. A neat interaction.

We have decided that because Willie’s immune system is down that we will watch church from home for the foreseeable future. It is just safest that way.

Photos will come tomorrow.

C left early this morning to go to History Days a few towns over with a bunch of her friends. It worked out nicely because Willie and I left the house around 9:15 and didn’t make it back home until almost 3.

First up on the schedule was the blood draw. It wasn’t overly busy. We waited for a short time before he got called back. I read a book and people-watched. I knew Willie was done and coming around the corner because he clears his throat and I know the sound.

We went up to the bone marrow biopsy floor. Willie was nervous and his palms were sweaty because of it. He ended up having his biopsy done by Amie – a nurse he has had before who does a great job. While he was back I had my book out and watched people come and go again. The whole thing takes about a half hour or so. When he came back out he said it was the smoothest one yet, though he still intends to get any subsequent biopsies sedated. I guess the drug they use makes you feel like you had the best power nap of your life.

Willie had to fast because of his blood draw, so he was ready to eat. We walked a couple blocks away and grabbed sandwiches at a local deli. There was a very tall man who came in while we were eating. He had to duck through the doors and Willie said his jaw came to the top of the door jamb.

After lunch we stopped by the LC desk to see if Paul was working. He was not but Grace was. We visited with her and then took a walk down the long hallway to the new building they were working on the entire year we were down here before.

These images are looking two different directions, but back when we were here before, both ends looked like the photo on the left. Long with a dark end at either end depending on where you were at. This is the hallway Willie passed out in on C and forever changed her feelings about the clinic. The photo on the right is the new view down the hallway – I’m taking it from the roughly halfway mark. The light at the end of the tunnel is the new radiation building.

Part of the view from the new building and some fiber art on the wall.

We met with the pharmacist, the nurse, a doctor in training – a Fellow – and then very briefly the actual doctor. We both really liked the Fellow. When is done with his fellowship he will go to Boise, ID and be a part of their transplant program there. He said Willie’s labs were the best he has seen all week. He also said Willie is the longest living person diagnosed with AEL that he has ever met. The appointments felt really positive and I am grateful for how the day went.

We went home and Willie took a nap while I ran something to C and she and I ran to the store before her practice. I came home and began making a cake and baked Ziti for the team potluck, except something is melting on our stove when the oven is on so we turned it off and I made the Ziti on the stovetop and the cake in the microwave.

While I was preparing food new results came in for Willie’s CD4 immune system test. We didn’t know that the numbers could go backwards, but they did. Of course that threw Willie for a major loop. He sent his doc a message to ask if there was anything to be concerned about and then consulted Dr. Google. According to the internet a recent infection could cause the CD4 numbers to go down. After talking with the doctor earlier today we are under the assumption that Willie was fighting something last week, hence the enlarged lymph nodes that have since gone down. (They are going to have an ultrasound of them next week just to make sure there isn’t anything else going on, but the doctor was pleased that he could not feel the one in his armpit.) We learned that the lymph nodes in the groin area are always larger because that is where a lot is filtered so they don’t worry about those until they get to at least 2 cm.

The doctor’s graph showing how the odds of survival level out and that the bulk of the threat of disease reoccurence is surpassed in these first three years.

While waiting between the pharmacist and the nurse we looked out over all the construction happening. Each of the cranes is flying an American flag. And at night they all have bright red lights to notify planes and helicopters that they are there. It was a surprising sight the other night when I saw the lights for the first time.

Looking down below at the colorful flowers and leaves.

The plan was to bring the food to the potluck, but not stay, but when Willie realized it was being hosted at our friend’s house, he decided we should go. So, we went and had a nice evening with friends. I think it was good for us to be able to get out and not sit at home and dwell on things. I have only made it this far because I hand it over to God, but it takes Willie a little bit of time to process. I have to acknowledge and validate his feelings, while also stay positive and rational, because if I also stressed about it, we would be in trouble.

On our way to the potluck, there were a lot of machines in the fields harvesting.

The kitten helping C with her puzzle. When she went downstairs to do a few things he decided he needed to swipe puzzle pieces off the table. He would swat one and watch it fall and then move to another and another and another. There were at least 12 pieces on the floor before I went and stopped him. He is quite the character.

Several friends have asked for photos of the house. While most of it is not ready to see, and every other day it seems like its a disaster even after cleaning it, I was able to take a few photos of our bedroom to share. The shelves next to the bed are temporary. I would like to find several antique dressers to stick as nightstands.

We called and sang our nephew happy birthday tonight.

Willie has multiple appointments tomorrow, including a blood draw and bone marrow biopsy. He is really dreading the biopsy. This may be the last time he gets one un-sedated. The anticipation of the temporary pain and discomfort is really making him anxious. I hope he sleeps well tonight and that tomorrow goes smoothly.

More running photos! C had a meet yesterday. The weather was gorgeous for us spectators, but a tad warm for the athletes. It was a hilly course with a section they call “in the shadow of the valley of death” and right after it is a long and torturous hill. Cs team placed first in the girls and then in first overall with the combined scores of the varsity boys and girls. Their sixth place runners were the tie breaker that put Cs team ahead. She placed ninth overall and it was her first race this season to be in the top 10.

Photo below is of A and C. A was the first person C started running with back in 2024 because they had a very similar pace. They continue to be very similar.

Willie and I had a great time visiting with friends and meeting a few new folks too. It was fun to run around the course to cheer on the Jaguars in as many places as we could.

C has a friend whose younger sister adores her. I love it. She may not have biological siblings, but she sure is a magnet for other littles. It still sometimes makes my heart hurt that she is an only and I still have slight moments of envy when I see other mamas having more babies. Leukemia changed that for us and we don’t even have the option to try for more, though at this point I know Willie would say we are too old. I don’t think we are, but it just wasn’t in our cards. C said she is most definitely having more than one child.

During the awards ceremony we had an interesting mini-event play out. One of the younger brothers of a teammate of Cs is autistic and he was walking around with his tablet taking photos. At one point he was up in front of all the teams and in front of where the awardees were standing looking back out over the team and taking pictures. His mom tried to wave him off to the side, but he was blissfully unaware. Then a tinier girl from one of the teams ran up to him and began chatting and asking to see his photos, at least that appeared to be what she asked because he started showing her his tablet. She then stood off to his side, gave a cute smile and double thumbs up, he snapped a photo or two, she looked at them, and then she ran back to her team and sat down. Turned out she was also autistic. I guess something was apparent to the two of them and they had this adorable interaction in front of over 100 athletes and parents. I wish I had gotten it on camera.

Cs first friend she made here – also a C – runs on the team but has never been very competitive. Though she is Cs age she runs on the JV team. She always looks like she is going to cry while running, even though she isn’t. This C isn’t fast and has never been in the top 10. Well yesterday for the first time, she was! After the awards ceremony we were standing near her mama and I was able to witness her exuberant excitement over getting a medal. Her face absolutely glowed and she was so very thrilled to have placed. That moment was one of my favorite of the evening.

Willie and I continued our morning walk before work today. Once again the weather was gorgeous. I can’t believe how warm it has been. I wore shorts all day long! The temperatures may drop next week, but for now, we will soak up the sunshine and warmth.

Another 1,000 piece puzzle completed. This is the fourth one in the last month. We found this one at a garage sale a few blocks away for $5 a couple weekends ago.

In between football Willie hung a shelf made by my paternal grandpa. It is now in the entrance to the guest room/Willie’s office and he hung his hats and is displaying several signed baseballs and a few cards. The Christian Yellich bobblehead came from a game we went to in Milwaukee quite a few years ago with some of my family.

This is one of my Alaska pieces we had framed awhile back. I finally got it on the wall of our guest room yesterday afternoon. I love how the color of the wall is also in the painting. Picking the paint for the room was not based on the print, but it was fun to see how the two of them work together.

I also hung the peacock in our bedroom. It had been on an existing nail in our main living area, but the nail was way too high. Whoever hung things up in this house before us hung them all way too high. This print hung above our toilet in the last house. If you look closely it has colors that match the bed and wall. Another unplanned art/room color pairing.

C and her friend took out the boxes of games on Friday and they remained sitting in the family room. I tried to make it through most of them on Sunday and their contents are now in our entry closet. The plan is that they eventually move to a console/cabinet that Willie is going to build, but for now, they have a home. This isn’t all of them. I have two braided bins that contain the smaller games sitting at the top of the stairs. There is at least one box worth of games left, though I think there is another one or two because after having them all laid out we are definitely missing a few. I did leave some in AK with our camper trailer, but those were duplicates.

The fall leaves on the maples are pretty.

I find it interesting what we each get out of a church service. We had a guest speaker yesterday and Willie heard about contentment and I heard about being created as his helpmate and to show Christ’s love in our constellation of relationships.

The kitten, or baby as we call him, was in a very interesting position earlier this evening.

Willie reached out to his care team today because he found a sore nodule in his armpit. Searching the internet gives one all sorts of possibilities and levels of concern. Because he has his bone marrow biopsy and various other appointments on Friday the doctor will look at him then and determine if we need to dig deeper. In the meantime, we will try to trust and not worry.